Rising Cubs' Star OK After Frightening Blow to Head

That was fucking scary. During the fifth inning of Thursday night's game between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, rookie Moises Ballesteros was struck on the left side of his head as he took off to second base after Pete Crow-Armstrong lined a ball 105mph that unfortunately hit his teammate.

Ballesteros was momentarily stunned, wincing in pain before he recovered and started to run to second base. TJ Friedel raced in to shallow center fielder to get the ball that hit off Ballesteros' head and completed the force out at second base. Surprisingly, Ballesteros remained in the game and took one more plate appearance against Reds' ace Hunter Greene, who threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout.

Scary sight.

Fortunately for Ballesteros his helmet did its job, taking the brunt force of the impact of the 100+mph line drive hit by Crow-Armstrong.

The Cubs are facing left-handed starting pitcher Nick Lodolo Friday night, so Balleteros isn't in the starting lineup for the Cubs, but the rookie hitter said he was feeling all right following Thursday night's series opener in Cincinnati.

Via the Chicago Sun-Times.

Rookie designated hitter Moises Ballesteros said he felt “really good,” even after being hit in the helmet by a line drive.

He reached base on an error to lead off the fifth. With two outs, Pete Crow-Armstrong pulled a line drive that grazed Reds first baseman Spencer Steer’s glove and struck the left side of Ballesteros’ helmet, sending it flying.

“After that, I felt a little bit nervous,” Ballesteros said.

He still had the wherewithal to run to second — although not in time to beat the throw from center field, where the ball had ended up. And soon after being checked by a trainer, Ballesteros was reenacting the play in the dugout for his teammates, with a smile on his face. He remained in the game.

The left-handed hitter has been excellent this year. In 47 plate appearances in the majors in 2025, Ballesteros has a slash line of .286/.362/.500, with a pair of home runs, nine runs driven in and eight runs scored. He was most recently called up to take Kyle Tucker's spot on the active roster and since then Ballesteros is 8-for-24 at the plate in seven games.

This late surge by Ballesteros is making the 21-year-old rookie a viable option to make the postseason roster for Craig Counsell's squad. That decision could become more clear next week if Tucker still doesn't make progress from his calf strain.