2 young Cubs players who have all the makings of unlikely postseason heroes

Winning the postseason requires your stars to play big. But in recent seasons, even that hasn’t been enough. The champs almost always are carried by at least one unexpected hero.

The Chicago Cubs are a veteran, star-driven team. The core is largely populated by experience – Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon. And even the young guys – Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and Cade Horton – have acquired reputations that exceed their youth.

But two Cubs stand out for their potential to elevate their team by delivering the kinds of pleasant postseason surprises that can make Chicago a tougher team than they appear to be on paper.

And in that sense, third baseman Matt Shaw and recent callup Moises Ballesteros might ultimately be the difference between a quick playoff exit and a memorable run.

Recent history clearly demonstrates that the successful teams get a big boost from some unexpected source. Even the 2024 World Series champion Dodgers, a roster loaded with Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and all those pitchers, might have had a shorter postseason run without a largely overlooked late-season pickup.

At the trade deadline the Dodgers acquired utility player Tommy Edman from St. Louis as part of a seven-player, three-team swap. At the time Edman was envisioned as a filler piece.

But in the postseason, he started every game, switching between shortstop and center field as needed. Edman batted .407 in LA’s six-game NLCS victory over the Mets, and ranked second behind only Freeman in Win Probability Added – a stat that measures the criticality of a player’s contributions – during LA’s five-game World Series victory over the Yankees.

Over the past decade, championship teams have been blessed by having an Edman-type player provide unexpected contributions. The Texas Rangers got a similar shot from September callup Evan Carter during the 2023 post-season, the Astros from second-year player Jeremy Pena in 2022, and the Braves from deadline trade pickup Jorge Soler in 2021.

All played way above their profiles in October. If you reach back to 2018, journeyman Steve Pearce – a trade deadline acquisition – slugged 1.167 to carry the Boston Red Sox past the Dodgers. And no Cubs fan can forget what Kyle Schwarber did against Cleveland in 2016. Returning from an early season injury, he hit .412 with a .971 OPS.

Of the two most likely Cubs candidates to fill the role of unexpected hero this postseason, Shaw is probably the more likely. For one thing, as a regular third baseman, he’s guaranteed playing time. And there are signs that he may be stepping up at the right moment.  Although Shaw’s only hitting .230 with a .695 OPS, he’s been better since August 1. And for his last seven games, Shaw’s on a legit roll, batting .389 with a 1.254 OPS and 15 total bases.

Moises Ballesteros is an imperfect fit on a Cubs postseason roster

The challenge for Ballesteros may be getting on the postseason field, or even on the roster. Since his call-up, he’s played exclusively at DH, which probably tells you all you need to know about the Cubs’ opinion of his readiness at catcher, his listed position.

Since veteran Seiya Suzuki will likely shift back to DH when Kyle Tucker returns in the postseason (or if Tucker is limited to DH-only duty), Ballesteros’ options may be limited to pinch-hitting, if he even has any. The roster decision is likely to come down to two from among Ballesteros, Justin Turner and Carlos Santana, and it would take guts for the Cubs to select a rookie over a pair of veterans.

Having acknowledged that, Ballesteros has postseason potential. Most significant is his eye; Ballesteros entered Thursday with just a 15.5 percent strikeout rate and an identical 15.5 percent walk rate. Both figures are excellent for a youngster.

He is also capable of hitting the ball hard. His max exit velocity of 112.8 mph ranks among the top 20 percent of all major leaguers.  The downside – there is always a downside – is that to date he has not learned to channel that power into the air. Ballesteros tends to hit the ball on the ground, which coupled with his lack of speed makes him a potential double play concern.

Having acknowledged that, there is something attractive about a guy who puts the ball in play, particularly on a team that makes zero contact once in every five plate appearances.

If the Cubs are to make a serious postseason run, they obviously need their core talent to step up. But they probably also need a surprise. Shaw and – if he gets the chance – Ballesteros – are the two best candidates to provide that surprise.