Chicago Cubs Star Prospect Hits Arizona Fall League to Make MLB Case

The Arizona Fall League gives the Chicago Cubs’ top catching prospect the chance to show he’s worth a 2025 call-up.

Iowa Cubs catcher Moises Ballesteros catches a pitch on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, at Principal Park. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

Moises Ballesteros isn’t quite 21 years old yet and he’s already on a rocket ship toward the Majors.

Considered the Chicago Cubs’ No. 4 prospect, he is their highest-ranked prospect invited to play in the Arizona Fall League, which starts this week.

Ballesteros and the rest of the Cubs will play be playing for the Mesa Solar Sox in Mesa, Ariz., the Cubs’ spring training home.

Chicago is sending nine prospects to the AFL. But Ballesteros is the one to watch.

He spent 2024 with Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa and finished with a slash line of .289/.354/.471/.825 with 19 home runs and 78 RBI. He had career highs across the board.

He earned the promotion to Iowa in June, the result of his play at Tennessee and the acceleration of his development. Baseball observers took notice, too.

Ballesteros represented the Cubs at the MLB Futures game with Matt Shaw and James Triantos, though Ballesteros only participated in the skills challenge. But he was still among the game’s top prospects for a few days during All-Star Weekend in Arlington, Texas.

His plays also earned him notice as Chicago's top midseason prospect, as selected by Baseball America. He was a rarity at the time— a 20-year-old everyday player at Triple-A.

Chicago signed for $1.2 million out of Venezuela in 2021 and he started his pro career later that year in the Dominican Summer League as a 16-year-old. He came stateside in 2022 and played for the Arizona Complex League Cubs and with Class-A Myrtle Beach. In 2023 he started at Myrtle Beach but was promoted to both High-A South Bend and Tennessee.

He’s always been a good hitter, with a career slash line of .279/.366/.452/.818 with 46 home runs and 200 RBI.

He’s just 5-foot-7 and scouts are concerned he may not end up as a full-time catcher, but he has cross-trained at first base and with a bat like his, he could be a quality full-time designated hitter.

The other Cubs headed to Arizona are infielder Benjamin Cowles, who is also a Top 30 prospect, along with right-handed pitchers Grant Kipp, Shane Marshall, Aaron Perry, Vince Reilly, Luis Rujano and Sam Thoresen. First baseman Jonathon Long was also selected.

Cowles is intriguing because he arrived in Chicago as part the Mark Leiter Jr. trade.

AFL action starts on Oct. 7 and since it was founded in 1992 more than 3,000 players have participated and moved on to the Majors at some point.

When the season concludes on Nov. 14, there will be a play-in semifinal game between the second- and third-place finishers in the standings on Nov. 15 at Scottsdale Stadium. The championship game is held the next day at Salt River Fields.