Dodgers prospect Michael Busch approaching first MLB stint with nothing to prove
Three and a half hours before first pitch, Michael Busch gave himself a moment to take it all in.
The Dodgers rookie emerged from the PNC Park clubhouse Tuesday afternoon, climbed to the top of the stairs in the visitors dugout, then stopped and looked around at a quiet pregame scene — gazing out at a major league setting that, for the first time in his career, he’ll get to call home for at least the next couple of days.
“It really hit me when I came out here and started taking some early work on the field,” Busch said. “Seeing the stadium, seeing the city, just walking into the locker room … it was pretty cool.”
In the Dodgers’ 8-7 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Busch made his debut as the club’s designated hitter, collecting his first career hit, walk and RBI less than four years after being drafted by the organization as a first-round pick from the University of North Carolina.
It was a long-awaited moment for the 25-year-old infielder, who had been tearing up the minor leagues and had risen to the No. 3 spot in the Dodgers farm system rankings, according to MLB Pipeline, when he finally got the call Monday from Dodgers traveling secretary Scott Akasaki.
“Scott actually gave me a call [when] I was sleeping,” Busch said, laughing about napping through Akasaki's initial ring. “He told me I had a flight in three hours. It was pretty special.”
After getting to play just 15 games as a prospect before the pandemic canceled the 2020 minor league season, Busch rose steadily through the farm system over the last two years.
He batted .271 with a combined 52 home runs and 175 RBIs between double A and triple A in 2021 and 2022. After heating up near the end of spring training this year, he started his regular season back in triple A on a tear, reaching safely in each of his first 21 games while posting a .967 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
That lined him up to replace Max Muncy this week, after the Dodgers starting third baseman became the latest member of the team to land on the paternity list.
And as Busch joined the club Tuesday — following a cross-country travel saga in which he flew from Albuquerque, N.M., to Oklahoma City (after finishing a triple-A weekend trip), then Chicago to Pittsburgh (making a connection at Midway Airport on Monday night) — he was welcomed by the big league club with open arms.
“I just want him to know that he's earned this promotion,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You can talk as much as you want to the players about being part of the plan, but when they keep performing [and don’t get called up], it gets discouraging. … But when we do have a chance to recognize performance, I think that’s fantastic.”
Added rookie outfield James Outman, Busch’s longtime minor league teammate and spring training roommate: “I think everybody knows it was just a matter of time for Busch. It’s exciting. He’s worked really hard.”
Busch made an immediate impact Tuesday, playing an important part in their five-run comeback win.
In the sixth, he keyed a two-run rally with an RBI single, staying back on a two-strike slider to rope his first base hit back up the middle.
“You kind of get lost in the moment, in a way,” Busch said. “You're not trying to do too much.”
In the eighth, he helped manufacture another important turning point, drawing a walk a few at-bats before Chris Taylor’s go-ahead three-run home run.
“The last 48 hours were pretty special — actually, not even 48, I don't think, maybe 30 hours or so,” Busch said with a laugh, shortly after greeting the 30-plus friends and family who made the trek to see his debut. “The fact that we were able to come back and get the win and be able to see my family and friends afterward, it was awesome."
This first big league stint might not last long.
Muncy's paternity list stay can only last three days. And when he returns, Busch will likely return to the minors.
It’s a reflection of the somewhat unclear spot the prospect maintains in the organization; a promising offensive weapon who — despite time in the minors at first base, second base, left field and, in preparation for Muncy’s expected absence over recent weeks, nine games at third base this year — still doesn’t have a defined defensive spot.
“Obviously, he needs to continue to play well,” Roberts said when asked how Busch could bolster the Dodgers' big league roster this year. “But I do think him being able to take down third base is only helping his stock.”
In the meantime, though, Busch is simply relishing a chance to make an important first impression, showcasing his smooth left-handed swing in the majors for the first time.
"I don’t know if I have anything to prove," Busch said, wearing an easy smile during a pregame dugout scrum with reporters. "I get to be here. I get to play in a major league game tonight. That’s pretty cool."
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
