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Chicago Cubs prospect Moises Ballesteros is putting up rare numbers for his age.
The 21-year old is the youngest player on the Triple-A Iowa Cubs roster after quickly climbing the minor league ranks upon signing as an international free agent out of Venezuela when he was just 16.
Through 17 games with the Iowa Cubs this season, Ballesteros has a .388 batting average, a .447 on-base percentage, a .582 slugging percentage and a 1.030 OPS. In 76 plate appearances, he has produced 10 runs, 26 hits, five doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, three stolen bases, seven walks and 10 strikeouts.
That equates to a 171 wRC+ (weighted runs created-plus), per FanGraphs. On it's own, that's good for 10th among all Triple-A players. But what makes it even more impressive is Ballesteros' age compared to the rest of the leaderboard. He's the only 21-year-old in the top 10, and the next youngest player is 25 years old. The average age of the nine players above him is 26.8.
Among the top-25 Triple-A players in wRC+, Ballesteros is one of two 21-year-olds, along with Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony, who's 20th with a 155 wRC+. Anthony is the No. 2 prospect in MLB, only behind Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki.
This is the Triple-A leaderboard sorted by wRC+.
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) April 21, 2025
Look at Moises Ballesteros and look at the ages of the players around him. pic.twitter.com/F1RqWZixd6
Ballesteros, a lefty, is on a nine-game hit streak, including nine hits in his last four games and at least one hit in 14-of-17 games this season. At 5-foot-8 and 195 pounds, he's played 12 games at catcher, four as the designated hitter and one at first base.
Across 124 games between Triple-A and Double-A last season, Ballesteros had a .289 batting average and an .826 OPS, along with 19 home runs, 78 RBI, 93 strikeouts and 45 walks.
Moises Ballesteros hit 2 home runs last night! His projections, no regression:
— Scout the Statline (@StatlineScout) April 17, 2025
.293 ba
.353 obp
.492 slg
23 hr
86 rbi
9% bb%
17% k%
Is he the top catching prospect in baseball?
pic.twitter.com/VmtM0rECsU
Ballesteros has made a rapid rise through the minor leagues, so what's stopping him from a big-league call up? For starters, the Cubs may not want to rush his development as just four 21-year-olds made 2025 Opening Day rosters. But he can clearly hit – he's had an .813 OPS or higher in each of his four minor league seasons – so the larger question is likely his fit on the MLB roster and not his ability.
The Cubs traded for MVP candidate right fielder Kyle Tucker in the offseason, which moved Seiya Suzuki to designated hitter. They also have Michael Busch at first base, and want those three bats in the lineup every day. There are questions about Ballesteros' defense at catcher and first base, so finding at-bats for him in the big leagues could take some creativity, though there's no denying his hitting talent.
More must-reads:
- Yankees' unlikely answer emerges from depth chart to save season — for now
- Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
- The 'MLB playoff home run leaders' quiz
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