Cubs’ Moises Ballesteros Does Damage With Few Strikeouts
Any questions surrounding Moises Ballesteros’ ability to stick behind the plate won’t matter if he keeps slugging at this level.
Ballesteros doesn’t turn 21 until November, but the 5-foot-7, 215-pound catcher forced the Cubs to promote him to Triple-A Iowa on June 17 with a dominant two and a half month offensive performance at Double-A Tennessee.
He improved each month at Double-A, finishing his time there this season with a .299/.372/.495 batting line and nine home runs in 56 games.
The lefthanded-hitting Ballesteros’ approach and command of the zone helps put him in good situations to do damage, aided by a low strikeout near 15%.
“It’s really a special bat,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said.
“Our Double-A numbers—the offense in (the Southern League) is so unbelievably down—and what a lot of our hitters are doing in that league is really impressive. But his may be the most impressive when you look at the fact that he’s 20.
“He’s not only doing damage, but he’s doing it with no strikeouts, which is really impressive.”
Hoyer credits Ballesteros for working hard on his defense and conditioning, acknowledging of the latter, “that’s something that he’s always got to work hard at given his body type.”
Ballesteros’ hot hitting continued at Iowa, where he went 18-for-49 (.367) with six extra-base hits in his first 12 games.
