The Cubs intend to advertise catching prospect Moisés Ballesteros for tomorrow’s sport towards the Marlins, reviews Bruce Levine of 670 The Rating. Ian Happ is headed to the 10-day injured record, Levine provides. Happ has missed the previous three video games with indirect discomfort. Ballesteros is just not on the 40-man roster, so the Cubs might want to make one other transfer in that regard.
Ballesteros, 21, is among the prime younger offensive gamers within the minors. He’s a profession .288/.371/.459 hitter over 5 skilled seasons. His manufacturing has remained remarkably constant as he has climbed the ladder. Ballesteros has posted an OPS above .800 at every cease. That features a ..311/.368/.477 slash for Triple-A Iowa over the previous two seasons.
The lefty-hitting Ballesteros has been on fireplace to start this yr. He’s out to a .368/.420/.522 begin over his first 34 Triple-A contests. He has linked on 4 homers, seven doubles and one triple whereas limiting his strikeout charge to a minuscule 10.7% clip. Amongst hitters with 100+ plate appearances, he’s second within the Worldwide League in batting common and ranks among the many prime 11 hitters in each on-base share and slugging. He’s seventh within the league in OPS, and each different participant within the prime 10 is not less than 24 years previous.
Unsurprisingly, Ballesteros’ bat has at all times been his calling card on scouting reviews. He was seen as a sophisticated hitter when he signed for $1.5MM out of Venezuela through the 2021 novice signing interval. He climbed in the direction of the highest of a wonderful Chicago farm system as he continued to show himself towards higher-level pitching.
Ballesteros ranked among the many league’s High 100 prospects on offseason lists from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, Keith Legislation of The Athletic and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs had him exterior his offseason High 100 however ranked him sixth within the Cubs’ system in December. He’s as much as thirty seventh general on BA’s in-season replace.
The reviews are fairly related throughout the board. He’s praised for his well-rounded offensive potential however faces questions on his defensive match. Ballesteros is listed at 5’8″ and has a heavyset construct (although he’s reportedly slimmed down a bit lately). He’s drawn comparisons to Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk because of this. Kirk has developed right into a strong defensive catcher however confronted questions on his glove as a prospect. There are maybe even better issues about Ballesteros’ receiving acumen and skill to manage the operating sport. Opponents have gone 27-31 in stolen base makes an attempt in his 191 1/3 innings as a catcher this season.
It’s unlikely that he’ll get a lot work behind the dish within the quick time period. Carson Kelly has obliterated opponents to a .303/.443/.671 slash over his first 25 video games. Miguel Amaya has a powerful .286/.309/.506 line over 22 contests. They’ve been the Nationwide League’s most efficient catching tandem. Ballesteros can sometimes spell Michael Busch at first base, however his clearest path to at-bats would come as a delegated hitter. Seiya Suzuki has drawn into left subject whereas Happ has been day-to-day. Suzuki ought to play left often for the extent of Happ’s IL stint.
Happ has been out to a sometimes productive begin on the prime of Craig Counsell’s batting order. He owns a .269/.364/.381 line by way of 187 plate appearances. His energy numbers are a bit lighter than regular, however the on-base mark can be the perfect of his profession. He’d been amidst an 0-14 skid main up the harm however had collected hits in seven straight video games earlier than that. His IL stint will be backdated to Could 10, that means he’ll be eligible to return subsequent week.
It stays to be seen if Ballesteros will stick to the massive league membership as soon as Happ is wholesome. He’s previous the purpose the place he can accrue a full yr of service time by way of the normal means, although he meets the prospect standards to probably earn a bonus service yr through the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He’d get a full service yr if he finishes prime two in Rookie of the Yr voting. The Cubs would not obtain an additional draft selection in that occasion as a result of they didn’t promote him early sufficient within the season. If this can be a everlasting promotion, Ballesteros can be well-positioned to qualify for early arbitration as a Tremendous Two participant through the 2027-28 offseason even when he doesn’t earn the total service yr.
Picture courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Photographs.
