I know it's only the Arizona Fall League, but it's getting extremely difficult not to get overly excited about Cubs catching prospect Moises Ballesteros, who is putting on a show with the Mesa Solar Sox.
Can't say this enough, Ballesteros is still only 20-years-old and after reaching Triple-A during the 2024 minor league season he continues to shine among other heralded prospects. On Monday, Ballesteros homered for the third consecutive game and now leads his squad in Arizona with five home runs in 11 games.
Ballesteros is 19-for-51 at the plate, slashing .373/.404/.725, adding three doubles to go along with the five homers on his stat sheet. His 1.129 OPS ranks 9th among the 70 hitters in the league.
We'll see how the Cubs attack their need at catcher this offseason, but regardless of that outcome it's becoming clear that Ballesteros will be ready to contribute in 2025. Right now, that most likely means the catcher will be one of the first few options from Iowa to come up to replace an injured player and then the team will proceed from there.
It could get frustrating because as much as Ballesteros looks like he's MLB-ready at the plate, the organization obviously wants him to reach his full potential behind the plate. That's the major reason he's getting these extra reps in the Arizona Fall League because if Ballesteros can be average defensively at catcher, then we're talking about an all-star caliber player as his potential with the Cubs.
Including his Arizona Fall League stats, Ballesteros has now hit 24 home runs in 135 games in 2024. He'll celebrate his 21st birthday on Nov. 8.
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Hey, there are actually some Cubs playing October baseball, but you'll have to look a little deeper to find their highlights. The 2024 Arizona Fall League begins today and while the overall results may not matter to fans there are a few Cubs prospects who are worth monitoring this fall.
What is the Arizona Fall League? Every year, all 30 MLB have the opportunity to send prospects to Arizona to play in a competitive post-season league, where minor league players get the chance for more playing time. Teams send prospects to this league for various reasons, either because they want to see a player further develop a certain skill, get more in-game experience and sometimes to make up for lost time because of injury.
For the Cubs, the main prospect who will get the most attention in the Arizona Fall League is 20-year-old catching prospect Moises Ballesteros. Despite his age, Ballesteros has shown an advanced hitting profile at the plate and during his age-20 season was promoted up to Triple-A, where the left-handed hitter played in 68 games to end the 2024 minor league season.
Now, Ballesteros is one of eight Cubs prospects who will play in the Arizona Fall League and all eyes will be on the catcher's continued development behind the plate. There's no doubt that he can hit, but the Cubs obviously want Ballesteros to get as much work behind the plate to feel more comfortable about his potential role in the majors. The bat might already be capable against MLB pitching.
Ballesteros ended the 2024 minor league season with a 106 wRC+ at Triple-A, slashing .281/.340/.454, with 10 home runs in 285 plate appearances for the Iowa Cubs. Between his time at Double-A and Triple-A, Ballesteros posted a 127 wRC+, had an 8.9 BB% and only struck out 18.3% of the time.
Corner infielder Jonathan Long will also be playing in the Arizona Fall League and just in case you don't know much about him, how about his 2024 numbers to grab your attention. Here's what Long did in 46 games at Double-A to end 2024: .340/.455/.528, 189 wRC+, 17.5 BB%, 16.5 K%, 7 home runs, 9 doubles.
Long, 22, was a ninth-round draft pick in 2023 out of Long Beach State for the Cubs. There's a chance that if he goes off in the Arizona Fall League, then the Cubs push him up to Triple-A to begin the 2025 season after possibly determining that Long doesn't need more time at Double-A. That would be a pretty good development story from that 2023 Cubs draft class if Long moves up through the system that quickly.
You can see the full Arizona Fall League rosters below.
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