Chicago Cubs Hitters of the Month - June 2025

After scoring nearly six runs per game, second in all of baseball, over the course of the first couple months of the season, the Chicago Cubs’ offense came back down to earth a bit in the month of June. They scored about 4.5 runs per game, which was exactly average, 15th in baseball. 

That doesn’t mean there weren’t still performances to celebrate. Certain players kept the Cubs afloat while others regressed to the mean. Let’s take a look at North Side Baseball’s Cubs Hitter of the Month for June. 

Honorable Mention
Reese McGuire (.244/.279/.488, 3 HR, 7 R, 6 RBI)

The Cubs were probably worried about the production from the catcher position cratering when Miguel Amaya went down with an oblique injury at the end of May. And it has, though not because of McGuire. He’s actually been the one keeping them afloat.

Carson Kelly struggled in June, to the tune of a 62 wRC+ (an all-encompassing offensive stat where 100 is average), according to FanGraphs. While McGuire’s batting line was good for a 112 wRC+, just a hair above league average, it’s been incredibly valuable given how unexpected it was. That alone deserves a shoutout. 

Will it continue? Probably not. But it might not have to for much longer with Amaya hopefully returning from his injury in July. Regardless, McGuire has filled the third catcher role with aplomb and deserves his flowers for seamlessly stepping in and replacing a crucial player.

Third Place
Ian Happ (.208/.298/.481, 9 HR, 16 R, 22 RBI)

Happ’s overall slash line leaves a bit to be desired here, thanks to the drop in batting average, but his nine home runs led the team, as did his 22 RBIs from the leadoff spot. 

In a 19-game stretch from June 5 to June 25, Happ slugged all nine of those home runs and posted a .960 OPS, seemingly carrying the Cubs’ offense in the process. He was named the Cubs' Player of the Month for a reason. You can read more about Happ’s hot month from our own Matthew Trueblood.

Second Place
Kyle Tucker (.311/.404/.578, 5 HR, 18 R, 13 RBI)

It certainly doesn’t feel like Tucker had a great month, yet he still somehow posted a 173 wRC+, his highest in any individual month so far as a Cub. He also posted his highest BABIP (batting average on balls in play), suggesting there might be some luck involved, but he is more than living up to the pre-season hype.

As a matter of fact, the deeper you look into the numbers, the more confounding they get. He walked 12.5 percent of the time in June, the lowest in any month as a Cub, and struck out 19.2 percent of the time, the highest in any month. Both of those numbers are still really good, just not necessarily for someone with Tucker’s baseline.

The first thing I think when I see that high batting average and BABIP is perhaps he started hitting more line drives. That is also not the case. In fact, his line drive rate fell precipitously, from about 22 percent in the first couple of months to 15 percent in June. His ground ball rate was up to 35.7 percent in June, and he hit a likely unsustainable .320 on those ground balls. He hit just .196 on ground balls in March, April, and May combined. 

But we shouldn't be all doom and gloom in a piece celebrating his success. As they say, great hitters find a way to succeed, and Tucker did just that. The Cubs should be glad to have him, and they should extend him so they can have him for even longer. 

Winner
Michael Busch (.309/.385/.617, 7 HR, 13 R, 19 RBI)

I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to write about this for a while now, so I’ll just go ahead and do this here: Michael Busch is trimming his strikeout rate, and it is doing wonders for his production. 

Busch’s strikeout rate of 28.6 percent last season was 11th worst in baseball. This season, he’s down to 21.9 percent, and in June, he struck out just 15.4 percent of the time. His swinging strike rate for his career sits at 11.3 percent. In June, it was just 7.3 percent. 

If the second-year first baseman maintains the decreased strikeout rate, months like this might just become the norm for him. His BABIP was right on par with his career number. He’s just putting the ball in play that much more often, reaping the rewards of it.

What do you think of our list? Are there any other Cubs hitters you'd want to award for June? Let us know in the comments!