Moisés Ballesteros, in his first full Major League season, has emerged as one of the breakout performers of the young MLB campaign for the Chicago Cubs.
The 22-year-old Venezuelan posted a 121 weighted runs created plus (wRC+) at the Triple-A level in 2025 as a 21-year-old, the second-best mark in the International League among players his age. He was called up multiple times that season before becoming a regular in the Cubs’ lineup in September, when he showed why he was a consensus top-100 prospect. In that month, he hit .333 with a .435 on-base percentage and a .564 slugging percentage, adding two home runs and five RBIs.
Ballesteros has carried that momentum into 2026, quickly becoming one of the early stories of the season. Serving primarily as Chicago’s designated hitter against right-handed pitching, he has gotten off to a torrid start. Through his first 96 plate appearances, he is hitting .306/.375/.576 with home runs and 16 RBIs, good for a 164 wRC+. Among players with at least 90 plate appearances, he ranks 11th in slugging percentage, 25th in on-base percentage, 13th in wRC+ and 13th in weighted on-base average. His production has backed up the hype, and he has looked every bit like a future impact bat.
The next step in Ballesteros’ development will be proving he can handle left-handed pitching while earning more opportunities against it. Although he has been the full-time designated hitter versus right-handers, he has logged just 7 plate appearances against lefties this season, reaching base twice. When a left-hander starts, Seiya Suzuki typically serves as the designated hitter, with Matt Shaw shifting into the outfield.
Historically, left-handed pitching has posed a challenge for Ballesteros. Between Triple-A and the majors in 2025, he posted a .577 OPS against lefties, failing to hit a home run and recording just seven extra-base hits. Against right-handers, he totaled 41 extra-base hits. Over his professional career, he has hit six home runs in 377 at-bats against left-handed pitching compared with 60 home runs in 1,511 at-bats against right-handers. Demonstrating improvement in this area would significantly raise his ceiling.
While his surface numbers have been impressive, they have been aided in part by a .345 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), a figure that may not be entirely sustainable. However, his underlying metrics suggest his performance is far from a fluke. He ranks in the 74th percentile in barrel rate (11.8%), 84th percentile in expected slugging percentage (.482), 74th percentile in average exit velocity (90.9 mph) and 84th percentile in hard-hit rate (50.0%)
One of the most notable improvements in Ballesteros’ profile has been his ability to elevate the baseball. His groundball rate has dropped almost percentage points, from 62.2% in 2025 to 42.6%in 2026. He has also increased his rate of pulled fly balls to a very respectable 13.2%. If he can continue to improve on that, it could lead to big time power production.
Another factor that could shape Ballesteros’ long-term value is his ability to contribute defensively at catcher. After serving exclusively as a designated hitter for much of the season, he made his first start behind the plate Monday against San Diego. The Cubs plan to give him more opportunities at catcher, and even average defense at the position would significantly boost his overall value.
Ballesteros has quickly entered the conversation for National League Rookie of the Year. He ranks third among NL rookies in Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) at 0.8 and leads the group in wRC+, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. While his current role as a platoon player may limit his chances of winning the award, his early performance has already established that he can produce at the major league level—and he is doing so as one of just 11 hitters age 22 or younger
Photo: Moisés Ballesteros homered on April 17 against the New York Mets (AP Photo/Erin Hooley).
