After a brutal slump triggered a demotion to Iowa, the young slugger is rediscovering his swing. Improved plate discipline and a surging hard-hit rate signal a looming return.
The Chicago Cubs made the tough decision to option Moises Ballesteros down to Triple-A Iowa last week.
The decision to option Ballesteros came back on June 18 amid a rough slump. The rookie slashed just .135/.217/.149 with one extra-base hit, five RBI, and one stolen base across 29 games from May 4 to June 16.
The lefty swinging designated hitter was obviously not fully right at the plate in this six-week span. His batting average dropped 86 points from .317 to .231, and he definitely needed a sort of reset because he wasn’t performing offensively.
Ballesteros looked like a much different hitter from the first month of the season to the last month before his demotion.
He had a .306 batting average with 11 extra-base hits (six home runs), 18 RBI, a 10.4% walk rate, and a 15.6% strikeout rate in his first 31 games. That’s a massive difference from his numbers in his last 29 games with the Cubs, especially since his walk rate (9.5%) was a bit down and his strikeout rate (25.3%) was way up during this stretch.
It was obvious that Ballesteros was reeling a bit at the plate. Instead of just letting him figure it out, the Cubs made the smart decision to option him down to Triple-A Iowa to regain his confidence. That’s where the 22-year-old has spent the last week.
In his first six games with the Iowa Cubs, Ballesteros has actually hit the ball well. He is 7-for-24 (.292 batting average) with three doubles, six RBI, four walks, and six strikeouts in his first 29 plate appearances at Triple-A since being demoted.
It’s an encouraging sign to see Ballesteros posting solid all-around numbers following a rough stretch in the big leagues. He has a hit in five of his six games, and currently owns a 63.2% hard-hit rate, 96.6 mph average exit velocity, 13.8% walk rate, .285 expected batting average, and a .336 xwOBA in this small sample size.
The biggest thing for Ballesteros was just getting his confidence back. Anytime a young hitter goes through a rough stretch, it obviously takes a toll on them. He also wasn’t really seeing consistent at-bats, so it was difficult for him to break out of this month-long slump with limited opportunities.
The Cubs rookie will continue to see consistent plate appearances down at Triple-A Iowa. It’s very important for him to have those every day at-bats at this point in his career, as he is still developing as an all-around hitter.
Ballesteros will get his shot in the big leagues again. This move to Iowa wasn’t a long-term thing by any means. The Cubs just wanted him to get consistent at-bats and potentially tweak some mechanical things.
There’s a good chance Chicago promotes him within the next few weeks.
