{"id":85601,"date":"2024-09-14T18:43:48","date_gmt":"2024-09-14T22:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=85601"},"modified":"2024-09-14T18:43:48","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T22:43:48","slug":"cubs-prospects-moises-ballesteros-mlb-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/09\/14\/cubs-prospects-moises-ballesteros-mlb-pipeline\/","title":{"rendered":"Cubs Prospect&#8217;s Breakout Season is Turning Heads"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After starting the season at Double-A Tennessee, Chicago Cubs prospect <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/03\/moises-ballesteros-cubs-prospect\/\" target=\"_self\">Moises Ballesteros<\/a> has been one of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/biggest-jumpers-on-new-top-100-prospects-list-2024\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MLB Pipeline&#8217;s biggest movers<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n<h2>Cubs Prospect Moises Ballesteros Shooting Up MLB Pipeline Rankings<\/h2>\n<h3>Cruising Through the Minors<\/h3>\n<p>Ballesteros is billed as a catcher and a first baseman. But he&#8217;s being groomed as a catcher, which is arguably the least solidified position on the Cubs roster. He started 66 games at the position versus eight at first base and 39 as designated hitter.<\/p>\n<p>His bat is the first thing everyone talks about regarding his performance. He slashed .299\/.372\/.495 with 58 hits, nine home runs, and 43 RBI in 56 games with the Double-A Smokies.<\/p>\n<p>That earned him a spot on MLB Pipeline&#8217;s Top 100 and a promotion to Triple-A Iowa. In 66 games there, he&#8217;s slashing .280\/.344\/.466 with 68 hits, 10 home runs, and 31 RBI.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/streamable.com\/m\/moises-ballesteros-swats-a-solo-homer?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Rewarded for Performance<\/h3>\n<p>His superior plate awareness, situational hitting, and power won Ballesteros an invite to the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/roman-anthony-wins-inaugural-all-star-futures-skills-showcase\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Futures Skills Game<\/a>. A feature of the Minor League All-Star Game weekend, he finished third with a strong performance.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Ballesteros continued to climb both the Cubs prospect pool and the MLB Top 100. In the last week of August, he was selected <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.milb.com\/iowa\/news\/ballesteros-named-international-league-player-of-the-week\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">International League Player of the Week<\/a>, becoming the second Cubs prospect to earn that honor after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/crowape01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pete Crow-Armstrong<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That week, the slugger went 10 for 17 with two doubles, a home run, and five RBI in five games against the Memphis Redbirds. At the same time, he led Triple-A in batting average, OBP (.650), and OPS (1.532), and ranked second among International Leaguers in slugging (.882).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Congratulations to Moises Ballesteros for being named International League Player of the Week!! <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8Vf4ZE4ECQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/8Vf4ZE4ECQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IowaCubs\/status\/1831427159539253586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Not Quite Yet a Two-Way Player<\/h3>\n<p>There is no question that Ballesteros, who turns 21 on November 8, leads with his hitting. He&#8217;s one of only three minor leaguers 20 or younger with at least 114 hits and 18 home runs in 2024. Cubs Director of Player Development <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/moises-ballesteros-standout-season-cubs-minor-league\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jason Kanzler<\/a> says his bat is his &#8220;carry tool,&#8221; adding that Ballesteros&#8217; defense is steadily improving, although he still needs more work.<\/p>\n<p>Citing Ballesteros&#8217; size and body type, MLB Pipeline Podcast host Jim Callis likens him to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kirkal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alejandro Kirk<\/a> of the Toronto Blue Jays. The likeness is easy enough to see, although Kirk is an inch taller and 50 pounds heavier than the 5&#8217;7&#8243; Ballesteros.<\/p>\n<p>Kanzler says the young catcher has shown a lot of maturity and an eagerness to learn. Of his two-way ability, Kanzler adds that Ballesteros &#8220;can be so much more if the defense is major league-ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>A 2025 Preseason Battle is Shaping Up<\/h3>\n<p>As his potential increases, Ballesteros continues to climb the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/prospects\/top100\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MLB Pipeline Top 100<\/a> list. He currently ranks 41 and he&#8217;s also risen to number 4 on the Cubs list of prospects. This certainly means Ballesteros will get a look during the 2025 preseason, where he&#8217;ll square off with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/08\/30\/key-adjustment-cubs-amaya\/\" target=\"_self\">Miguel Amaya.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Amaya has improved somewhat this season both as a hitter and a catcher. He&#8217;s been slumping lately, going just 1-for-18 in his last seven games with two RBI. But changes to his approach at the plate have had a positive impact. In his last 30 games, Amaya is slashing .253\/.283\/.453 with 24 hits, four home runs, and 23 RBI. His OPS is above league average over that period. Defensively, he&#8217;s one of the top catchers in blocks this season with 13.<\/p>\n<p>Also joining this group of young catchers could be Ballesteros&#8217; fellow Venezuelan, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=aliend000pab&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pablo Aliendo<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/20\/cubs-top-prioirity-catcher\/\" target=\"_self\">Aliendo<\/a>, 23, currently ranks 13th among Cubs prospects. He&#8217;s taller and quicker than either Ballesteros or Amaya, has a good arm, and his .816 OPS with Double-A Tennessee this season is respectable.<\/p>\n<h3>Versatility May Lead the Way<\/h3>\n<p>What separates Ballesteros from the other Cubs catchers is his versatility. With offseason moves looming, the Cubs may need a player who&#8217;s comfortable both behind the plate and at first base. If he hits anything like he has in the minors the past two seasons, Ballesteros could be a valuable asset to the Cubs as they progress toward becoming an annual postseason player.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Cody Scanlan\/The Register \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After starting the season at Double-A Tennessee, Chicago Cubs prospect Moises Ballesteros has been one of MLB Pipeline&#8217;s biggest movers in 2024. Cubs Prospect Moises Ballesteros Shooting Up MLB Pipeline Rankings Cruising Through the Minors Ballesteros is billed as a catcher and a first baseman. But he&#8217;s being groomed as a catcher, which is arguably [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5158,"featured_media":85634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,2,926],"tags":[3429,69,28599,3683],"class_list":["post-85601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cubs","category-featured","category-milb","tag-miguel-amaya","tag-mlb","tag-moises-ballesteros","tag-pete-crow-armstrong"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5158"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}