Chicago Cubs shouldn’t waste an opportunity with fast-rising prospect

The Chicago loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday was a reminder that no matter what flash of competence baseball this team shows for a game or two, any realistic hope of a postseason spot was diminished in June.

While the Cubs did not have the dramatic sell-off at the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline that some were anticipating, the team did begin to shift their focus to the 2025 season with the acquisition of All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes and relief pitcher Nate Pearson.

It would seem that the Cubs will use these next two months to begin their roster evaluation for the 2025 season.

While Jed Hoyer has shied away from saying that the team's top prospects will get some runway at the Major League level over these final two months, it would be negligent of Hoyer not to do so.

Especially when it comes to the catcher position.

The lack of development from Miguel Amaya has been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2024 season. Looking beyond Amaya's wRC+ mark of 62 on the season, there also has been regression in the field.

Part of the problem with the Cubs' roster construction for the 2025 season is that if Cody Bellinger opts in, there won't be many areas where the team can improve offensively.

The exception to that is at catcher. While the free-agent options for catcher are nothing to write home about, the Cubs have a prospect quickly ascending their rankings and happens to play catcher.

Moises Ballesteros is currently the No. 5 prospect in the Cubs' system according to MLB Pipeline and since his promotion to Triple-A Iowa, he has been making a case for a promotion to the Major League level. In 134 plate appearances at Triple-A this season, Ballesteros is slashing .280/.328/.456 with a 100 wRC+. He has cooled down since his hot start but the potential in his bat is worthy of a run at the Major League level this season.

While the Cubs seem to be sold that his bat will play at the Major League level, there have been some questions in terms of if Ballesteros will remain a catcher. Now would be the time for the Cubs to begin to answer that question and given Ballestero a look at the Major League level to close the season.

If Ballesteros proves to be capable of handling the catcher position at the Major League level, that is an item that the team may be able to cross off their shopping list this offseason.