Cubs' Moises Ballesteros displays a potent bat, earning manager Craig Counsell's belief in his future power and offensive impact.
The Chicago Cubs have a lot of faith in top prospect Moises Ballesteros.
Ballesteros will enter the 2026 season still technically a prospect despite logging 66 plate appearances with the Cubs last year. In those 66 plate appearances, the 22-year-old displayed a ton of potential at the plate.
He slashed .298/.394/.474 with two home runs, two doubles, one triple, and 11 RBI across 20 games. More impressively was the fact that Ballesteros had a 13.6% walk rate and a low 18.2% strikeout rate in his first taste of the big leagues.
Now, the sky is the limit for Ballesteros in his first full season in the Majors. He will begin the year as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 overall prospect and is expected to see consistent at-bats throughout the 2026 season.
The departure of both Kyle Tucker and Owen Caissie opens up a spot for Ballesteros in the lineup. The lefty hitter is set to be the team’s primary designated hitter against right-handed pitchers this season.
As a result, Ballesteros has the potential to blossom into a really consistent hitter for this Cubs team in 2026. That potential has been on display all throughout the spring.
Ballesteros is currently hitting .333 with two home runs, two doubles, and eight RBI across 36 plate appearances this spring. He has a solid 7.7% barrel rate, a 90.8 mph average exit velocity, a 46.2% hard-hit rate, and an elite 14% whiff rate.
While Ballesteros doesn’t quite have the power yet to be a 20-home run hitter, manager Craig Counsell believes the power will eventually come for the young prospect.
“He’s so young, and he does a lot of things well,” Counsell told reporters in Arizona. “He’s going to improve. I think someday Moisés will hit a lot of home runs. I don’t think it’ll be this year, but I think someday he’s going to hit a lot of home runs.”
BallesterosBallesteros has never really been known as a power hitter throughout his career. He only hit 14 home runs across 117 games in 2023, belted 19 home runs in 124 games in 2024, and hit 15 combined home runs between the Majors and Minors in 2025.
But the power is definitely there for Ballesteros. Just look at what he did in Tuesday’s Spring Training game against the Angels. He launched two home runs in that game, including a towering 441-foot homer for his first long ball of the spring.
“When you hit two balls like that, you see it’s in there,” Counsell said to reporters. “With his gifts, and as he gets more experience and learns pitchers and learns his swing and things like that, he’s definitely capable of doing that.”
Even though Counsell doesn’t believe Ballesteros will hit a ton of home runs this year, he has full faith in the rookie in his first full season in the league. The 22-year-old has the potential to be a solid all-around hitter for the Cubs in 2026.