Chicago Cubs' Catcher of Their Future Getting Closer to Majors

The Chicago Cubs appear poised to promote their top catching prospect after he earned Southern League Player of the Week honors.

Mar 24, 2018; Peoria, AZ, USA; A Chicago Cubs cap sits on the dugout steps during the second inning of the game against the Seattle Mariners at Peoria Sports Complex. / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Moises Ballesteros is the No. 6 prospect in the Chicago Cubs’ organization. He is their top-rated catching prospect. And the 20-year-old appears to be on his way to Triple-A.

Ballesteros has reportedly been promoted to Iowa, who was off on Monday and begins a week-long series at Indianapolis on Tuesday. Ballesteros is not listed on Iowa’s official roster yet.

North Side Bound reported the promotion.

His reported promotion comes after he was named the Southern League Player of the Week for the Double-A Tennessee Smokies for his impressive play last week.

He hit for the cycle on Saturday and batted .381 with two home runs and nine RBI last week.

With Tennessee he batted .299/.372/.495/.867 with nine home runs and 43 RBI in 56 games.

MLB Pipeline has Ballesteros listed as a potential 2026 call-up, so this might put him well ahead of schedule. But it may say as much about Ballesteros’ play as it does about the Cubs’ horrible catching situation.

The tandem of Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya has given Chicago practically no offense from behind the plate. Gomes is batting .154 with just two home runs and seven RBI. Amaya is batting .190 with two home runs and 14 RBI.

It’s gotten to the point where the Cubs may have to swing a deal to get a veteran catcher after the All-Star Break. They don’t have a veteran catcher ready at Triple-A, so it may give Ballesteros the chance at significant playing time.

Chicago signed Ballesteros out of Venezuela for $1.2 million as part of its 2020-21 international signing class. From the start, he’s been able to hit.

He batted .266 in 2021 with the Cubs’ Dominican Summer League team. In 2022 he came stateside and reached Class-A Myrtle Beach and batted .257 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI.

Last season his offense took a jump while he was at Myrtle Beach, High-A South Bend and Tennessee. Combined he batted .285 with a career-high 14 home runs and 64 RBI.

The only other catcher in their Top 30 prospects is Pablo Aliendo, who is also at Tennessee.

Right now, Chicago seems to be accelerating Ballesteros.