Moisés Ballesteros Could Be Injury Away from Chicago

What do you call a fire hydrant with a .389/.444/.583 slash line and 170 wRC+ despite being the fifth-youngest position player at the Triple-A level? Moisés Ballesteros, or Mo Baller to the chronically online, is the best pure hitter in the Cubs organization and one of the best in the minors. He continues to crush everything, just as he has at each stop along his journey.

Generously listed at 5-foot-8 and 215 pounds, he’s not the first guy an unknowing onlooker would identify as the man most likely to embarrass an opposing pitcher. Even after having reportedly slimmed down a bit in each of the last two offseasons, he looks more like a recent divorcee looking to put his rolled softball bats to use as a beer league mercenary. But then you watch him hit and, well, he still looks like that dude, just with wood bats against pitchers who average around 5-6 years older.

There are plenty of questions about what position he’ll occupy at the next level, as his catching could use some work and he’s probably not an ideal first baseman. Putting him behind the plate for a playoff contender is suboptimal at best, and getting just one game at first indicates the Cubs aren’t prepping him for that either. That really just leaves DH, a spot currently occupied by Seiya Suzuki.

While I realize that more than a few people would be happy to see Suzuki supplanted posthaste, he’s putting up a 147 wRC+ and has been one of the Cubs’ best offensive producers since joining them in 2022. Michael Busch obviously isn’t ceding first base, and the combination of Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya is the most potent in MLB. So where does that leave us?

In short, it’ll probably take a significant injury to one of those backstops to get Ballesteros to Chicago in the near future. Even though an injury to Suzuki or another outfielder could open the DH spot, it’s unlikely the Cubs would open up a spot on the 40-man roster for a temporary promotion. Unless someone is going to the 60-man and/or the Cubs have an immediate need for another catcher in Chicago, it’s far more worthwhile to leave the young slugger in Iowa to continue getting everyday plate appearances.

But hey, he might just keep banging on the door so hard that the Cubs have to open it for him.