Moisés Ballesteros Gets the Call: Cubs Unleash an Elite Bat
A Blog By Robbie
Moisés Ballesteros has been tearing the cover off the ball in Triple-A Iowa, and his minor league success has finally paid dividends–he will now be taking his talents to the big leagues. The Cubs’ No. 4 prospect, a 21-year-old Venezuelan catcher and designated hitter, has been abusing Triple-A Iowa, slashing .368/.420/.522 with a .942 OPS and 4 homers, earning his shot to help out with the catching duties and the DH role. With Happ now down on the injured list, the Cubs will give Moisés a roster spot and a chance to show what his bat can do at the big league level while letting his defensive skills develop as well. The young prospect has shown shortcomings at the catching position, but his electric bat has made up for any liability he has while playing defence. Here’s the bottom line: if he can harness his elite offensive skill set, the defensive issues will not be too much of a concern; they will be able to stash him at DH.
Ballesteros’ Bat is Big-League Ready—Defence Still Catching Up
MLB Pipeline’s No 61st-ranked prospect began his road to the show in Venezuela, where he signed with the Cubs as an international free agent in 2021 for $2.6 million. His 2025 Triple-A dominance is a direct result of the strides he made in 2024, slashing .368/.426/.516 with 12 home runs and 54 RBI in 76 games, earning him a Pacific Coast League All-Star nod. His remarkable hit tool stems from an advanced plate discipline, as he was sitting at a sub-11% strikeout rate before getting the call. His .393 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) and 150 wRC+ show he is a line-drive machine, while his power could hint at a potential 20-homer season as he matures.
Scout the Statline’s (StS) Peak Projections absolutely adore Moisés Ballesteros. They project a 128.9 wRC+ and a slashline of .285/.349/.469 with 22 home runs and 79 RBI. They also project a 9% walk rate and a 16% BB rate, along with a .308 BABIP. There are five MLB players with 80 grade hit tools according to their Scout Grade Equivalencies, while only two prospects have 70 grades, and Ballesteros is one of them, joining the O’s catching phenom, Samuel Basallo.
All that being said, the defence is a work in progress, as mentioned previously. At 5’8” and 215 pounds, Ballesteros has an above-average arm but has still shown to struggle with framing and blocking. Although he has logged most of his games at the catching position, some scouts have seen him shifting to first base or DH in the long term. After being named the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024, his bat is more than ready for the big leagues, even if his catching needs a bit more polishing.
Where He’ll Fit In
When discussing where he will play…it gets a little bit dicey. The Cubs' first-string catcher, Carson Kelly is off to an incredible start to the season, currently boasting a 1.114 OPS. Bleacher Nation confirms he’ll debut at DH against the Marlins on May 13, 2025, maximizing his offence without disrupting the current tandem of Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly. We could see this long-term, as the Cubs are checking to see how the bat will play at the big league level, without any defensive disruptions, as the Cubs are hot in the streets at the top of their division.