A standout on Venezuelan youth teams, Ballesteros received the second-highest bonus ($1.2 million) among catchers and Chicago signees in the 2021 international class. His advanced hitting ability has been obvious since he turned pro, allowing him to reach full-season ball at age 18 and win consecutive Cubs Minor League Player of the Year awards in 2023 and 2024. He posted the best numbers of his career last year, including a .298/.385/.473 line in 20 games in the Majors.
Ballesteros has nothing left to prove offensively in the Minors, where he's a career .289/.371/.457 hitter. His sweet left-handed swing and feel for the barrel enable him to make consistent contact to all fields. The final step will be to tone down his aggressiveness so he can improve the quality of his contact, launch balls in the air more regularly and realize his 20-homer potential.
Ballesteros is much heavier than his listed 195 pounds and limited in terms of athleticism and quickness, so he may not be able to remain behind the plate. He has soft hands and solid arm strength, but his receiving needs a lot of polish and his footwork and transfer could use more quickness. He allowed 92 steals and committed 10 errors and seven passed balls in 71 Triple-A games last year. The Cubs played him at catcher just once in his 20 big league appearances, and his short 5-foot-8 frame makes DH his only other realistic option.
Ballesteros stood out on Venezuelan youth teams before signing for $1.2 million, getting the second-largest bonus among catchers and Cubs signees in the 2021 international class. His advanced hitting ability has put his career on fast forward, as he reached full-season ball at age 18 and Triple-A at 20. He slashed .289/.354/.471 with 19 homers in 124 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2024, winning Chicago's Minor League Player of the Year Award for the second straight season.
Ballesteros has a pretty left-handed swing and some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the Minors. His lone weakness at the plate is a tendency to chase pitches out of the zone, especially fastballs, which has cut into his walk totals at higher levels and resulted in less contact in Triple-A. He has done a better job of driving balls in the air the last two seasons, showing improved power to all fields and giving him 20-25 homer upside.
Much heavier than his listed 195 pounds, Ballesteros has well-below-average speed and quickness, giving him no value on the bases and leading to questions about his long-term viability as a catcher. In 72 games behind the plate last year, he committed seven errors and 13 passed balls while surrendering 87 steals in 99 attempts (88 percent). He does feature soft hands, which along with his hitting ability earns him some Alejandro Kirk comparisons, and he’ll flash solid arm strength that plays down because of his slow footwork and transfer. First base is his only other realistic position, but no big leaguer 5-foot-8 or shorter has played 100 games in a season there since Joe Judge in 1930.
Ballesteros starred on Venezuelan national youth teams before turning pro for $1.2 million, the second-highest bonus among catchers and among Cubs signees in the 2020-21 international class. Chicago has moved him aggressively because his bat is so advanced. The Cubs' 2023 Minor League Player of the Year, he slashed .285/.374/.449 with 14 homers at age 19, spending the second half of the season in High-A before a five-game cameo in Double-A.
Ballesteros has had no trouble handling significantly older pitchers because he has a sweet left-handed swing and controls the strike zone better than anyone in Chicago's system. He patiently works counts awaiting a pitch he can hit hard and takes advantage when he gets one. He did a better job of driving balls in the air and using the entire field in 2023, and he has the bat speed and strength for 20-homer power once he's fully developed.
Because Ballesteros is much heavier than his listed 195 pounds, has a thick lower half and lacks quickness and agility, there are questions as to whether he can remain at catcher. His proponents compare him to Alejandro Kirk for his hitting ability and soft hands, and he is making progress with his receiving and blocking. He'll flash some solid arm strength, but his slow footwork and transfer allowed basestealers to succeed in 97 of 122 (80 percent) attempts last year.
After starring on several Venezuelan national youth teams, Ballesteros signed for $1.2 million in January 2021. That was the second-highest bonus among catchers and Cubs signees in the 2020-21 international crop. He made his U.S. debut last summer, hit his way to Single-A after a month and held his own offensively in full-season ball at age 18.
Ballesteros succeeded against older competition because he's an advanced hitter with a smooth left-handed swing and control of the strike zone. He works counts looking for pitches to drive and has the bat speed and strength to produce 20 homers per season. He's still learning to drive balls in the air and to use the opposite field.
Much heavier than his listed 195 pounds, Ballesteros has a thick lower half and lacks quickness and agility. Earning Alejandro Kirk comparisons with his hitting prowess and soft hands, he has the tools to become a good receiver and is making progress with his blocking ability. He has solid arm strength but needs to quicken his footwork and transfer after allowing 85 steals in 98 attempts last year.
A veteran of Venezuelan national youth teams, Ballesteros received the second-highest bonus among catchers in the 2020-21 international class. He signed for $1.2 million, also the second-largest outlay in the Cubs' crop behind Cristian Hernandez's $3 million. He's an offensive-minded player who has the chance to develop into an average defender behind the plate.
Ballesteros has a smooth left-handed swing to go with advanced feel to hit and control of the strike zone. His bat speed and strength give him solid to plus raw power that could translate into 15-20 homers per season once he's fully developed. He does get a little pull-happy and he'll need to drive more balls in the air to tap into his pop.
Ballesteros keeps the running game in check with solid arm strength and a quick release. He has the soft hands to become a good receiver but must improve at blocking balls. A well below-average runner with a thick frame, he'll have to watch his conditioning.
These run values are leveraged, meaning the base/out situation at the time of the event does impact the run value (thus introducing context outside the batter's own contribution).
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's batted balls would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2025
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
2
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
2
2
2
2026
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Player
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
2
3
3
3
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
2
3
3
3
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's batted balls would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here
