It sure seems that Chicago Cubs prospect Moisés Ballesteros will be hitting at the major league level sooner rather than later. The big question is, where will he be playing?
As in, at what position?
But also, for which MLB franchise?
The No. 4 prospect in the Cubs system, Ballesteros is crushing the ball at Triple-A Iowa. Entering Friday’s game, Ballesteros is on an 11-game hit streak, with 20 hits in his last 43 at bats. After hitting .281 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs in 68 games for Iowa in the second half of the 2024 season, Ballesteros has boosted this year’s slash line to .377/.430/.558, with two home runs, six doubles, eight RBIs and three stolen bases. He has struck out 11 times while walking six.
All of which is to say, according to Mick Gillispie of the Cubs Baseball Channel podcast, Ballesteros is ready.
“He’s knocking on the door,” Gillispie said.
“When you see him going out there and putting up those kinds of numbers, I mean, those would be good softball numbers. And I know it’s a small sample size, but he’s just following up what he did last year, right? So if you can hit [.377] through [19] games at the Triple-A level, when you hit last year .290, and you hit those 10 home runs, I think you’re saying, ‘Hey, how much of this do you want to waste in the minor leagues and how much of it do you want to have in the big leagues?’”
But are the Cubs ready for Ballesteros, who was named the team’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024? Well, certainly they would welcome the left-handed swinger’s offensive skills.
“The Cubs could definitely use that in the major leagues right now,” Gillispie said.
However, there are only so many spots in the lineup, and finding one for Ballesteros within the current setup could prove difficult.
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