The Chicago Cubs have one of the better farm systems in Major League Baseball, and despite being expected at the trade deadline to potentially be parting with some of the big names, they instead held onto the blue chip guys.

Over and over again, the Cubs were linked to possible blockbuster trades which would have seen them dealing someone like an Owen Caissie or Jaxon Wiggins in exchange for pitching help, but instead they largely stayed the course.

One name who has established himself this year as knocking on the door of becoming a regular big leaguer is current No. 2 prospect Moisés Ballesteros, slugging his way to an absolutely incredible season at Triple-A Iowa.

In the last month though, Ballesteros had started to struggle at the plate and his numbers had started to cool off a touch. Over the weekend, however, the 21-year-old found a way to make a huge impact by mashing a home run to deep right field, his first long ball in over a week:

Iowa Cubs catcher Moises Ballesteros steps up to bat against Cleveland on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, at Principal Park. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

It has not exactly been a dreadful slump over the last month for the young slugger, slashing .266/.352/.430 now with three home runs and 15 RBI over the last 20 games. In comparison to the absurd numbers he’s had on the year as a whole though, it has been a slump for Ballesteros.

On the season as a whole, he’s slashing .319/.384/.481 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI over 103 games, even earning his chance to be called up to the Major Leagues earlier this season in what was a brief stint.

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Ballesteros did not hit for average in his six games with Chicago this year by any means, however he did collect four hits and six RBI including a double and three runs scored. Clearly, the Cubs felt strongly enough about him to give him a chance, and not only that, but Jed Hoyer holding onto him at the deadline despite his high stock reflects the organization’s belief that Ballesteros is a key piece for the future.

In all likelihood, he’s not going to factor majorly into the lineup this season and this October unless there were to be a horrific run of injuries to the catcher position and the designated hitter slot. Ballesteros is inevitable though, and the rest of the way he’s going to continue to try to prove that he is too talented to keep out of the lineup next season.

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