Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — The future of Dodger baseball is very bright indeed. Not only are we seeing rookie pitchers like Emmet Sheehan, Ryan Pepiot, and Bobby Miller step up big time at the big league level, the Dodgers down on the farm are excelling as well. Case in point: Michael Busch. The infielder, who got a taste of major league action this season, was named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year for 2023.
For the 2023 season in Triple-A, Busch hit a .323 average with a 1.031 OPS. In 94 games with the Oklahoma City Dodgers, Busch had 121 hits, 25 doubles, 24 home runs, 61 walks, and 84 RBIs.
His MLB numbers were decidedly less gaudy. In 27 games with the big club, Busch slashed .167/.247/.292 with two homers and seven runs batted in. And with Max Muncy fully ensconced at third base and J.D. Martinez a regular D.H. that didn’t give Busch a whole lot of roster opportunity in LA this year.
However, what he did on a day-to-day basis in Oklahoma is remarkable. Busch joins three other Dodger farmhands who have won the award since its inception in 1981. First baseman Mike Marshall won the inaugural award back then and went on to have a decent career with the Dodgers, and if memory serves, dated Belinda Carlisle from the Go-Go’s. After that, Paul Konerko won the award in 1997. Konerko wasn’t with the Dodgers much before being traded away and becoming a staple of the White Sox in the early 2000s. Finally, Gavin Lux snagged the prize in 2019, and we’re all eagerly awaiting his return to the active roster next season.
Will Busch join Lux on the Opening Day roster? It’s hard to say, but it looks like a pretty good bet that there will be an MLB career in his future very very soon.
