Busch, Crow-Armstrong, Bregman Fall Below Expectations in Start of Season

Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, right, throws to first base after retiring the New York Mets’ Marcus Semien (10) during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field on Saturday, April 18. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images/TNS)

The Cubs entered this season with hopes of finally winning the National League Central for the first time since 2017, but a rough start has left them near the bottom of the division standings with a record of .500.

The team is hitting an average of .239, which ranks 13th in the league. Several players are off to a slow start, including Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong (PCA), and Alex Bregman. 

Busch broke out last season, hitting .261 with an .866 OPS. He ranked No. 1 in slugging for first baseman at .523 and ranked second in home runs with 34. Many viewed him as a top three first baseman, and some even put him as the best in the league.

This season, he has struggled, hitting .169 with a .469 OPS, ranking at the bottom of the league for all qualified first basemen. There was a point where Busch went on a 0-for-30 streak until that was recently broken. Overall, Busch has been terrible since the start of the year, but he has been taking his walks and hitting the ball hard, so he should be back in due time.

PCA signed a six-year, $115 million contract extension this offseason, making him a Cub for life. He emerged last season as one of the best defensive center fielders (CF) in baseball and one of the top overall players at the position. He won a Gold Glove, made the All-Star team, and made the All-MLB second team. He was the first Cubs player since Sammy Sosa in 1995 to have a 30-30 season and became the face of the franchise overall.

But as the story commonly goes, PCA has been disappointing so far this year offensively. His defense is still the best in the league when it comes to playing CF, and that will never change. On the hitting side, he is hitting .221 with a .558 OPS. Against lefties, he is 5-for-28, which is an average of .179. 

He has the worst chase rate in the league at 49.3%; his strike out rate at 30% is in the top 15 worst in the league, and he never walks. He is only 23, but if he wants to go back to his numbers from last year, he must have better plate discipline and put the ball in the air more.

With one of the biggest signings of the year, Bregman and the Cubs inked a five-year, $175 million contract this offseason. He was one of the top free agents on the market at the time of signing. Bregman is a third baseman who has won a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger Award, and is a three-time All-Star with two top-five MVP finishes. The Cubs needed a star batter and a third baseman, and Bregman was the best guy they could have gotten.

Bregman is off to a slower start at the plate this season, hitting .243 with a .659 OPS. He has a great eye though, as he is No. 1 in the league with a chase rate of just 14.5%. His strikeout rate is one of the lowest in the league at 16.7%. When it comes to bat speed, he is at the bottom of the league, while his exit velocity is in the middle of the pack. 

However, Bregman is a proven player who has shown how good he can be. There are no worries that he is going to turn things around and be the star player that the Cubs need. 

Injuries have also been a large factor in the Cubs’ struggles so far. The team’s ace, Cade Horton, is out for the year with a damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, which required season-ending surgery. The 24-year-old top prospect, who was the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up, felt pain and saw a drop in velocity during a game against the Guardians, leading to his injury stint.

Horton, who was a huge part of the Cubs’ 2025 run back to the postseason, had high hopes to be one of the best arms in the game this year and lead the Cubs to a deep playoff run.

The Cubs temporarily lost pitcher Matthew Boyd, who was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left bicep strain. Boyd is expected to return soon, as the Cubs opted for precautionary rest for the health of the tall lefty.

The season is still in its early stages, with only a fraction of the 162-game schedule completed. There is a ton of time to get things going, and it’s still too early to run the train off the tracks. Hopefully, the Cubs will get things going and be the first-place team they are supposed to be.