Cubs Promoting Superstar Prospect Moises Ballesteros With Ian Happ Going to IL

Chicago Cubs fans have been wondering when they might see superstar prospect Moises Ballesteros in The Show, and they will now no longer have to wait.

Bruce Levine of 670 the Score first reported that Ballesteros is going to get called up with Ian Happ getting moved to the injured list because of an oblique issue.

Ballesteros, the fourth-ranked minor leaguer in the Cubs' pipeline, has been one of the most impressive prospects in the sport since he was signed as an international free agent in 2021.

He owns a career slash line of .288/.371/.459 with 50 homers and 218 RBI in 386 career games across his five years of professional baseball. But he has also taken his game to the next level in the past two seasons.

At 21 years old, Ballesteros has slashed .368/.420/.522 with four homers, 12 extra-base hits and 18 RBI in 34 games at Triple-A this season.

His ability to hit has always been his calling card, and now it seems likely that he will slide into the designated hitter role with Seiya Suzuki moving into left field as Happ's replacement.

This is a major development for Chicago.

Not only did they call up their second-ranked prospect Cade Horton this past weekend, but they also gave their No. 1 guy, Matt Shaw, an opportunity to start the year, which shows they still have their eye on the future even in the midst of a season where it's deep playoff run or bust.

How Ballesteros performs during this stint will be interesting to see.

He likely won't play any catcher since both Miguel Amaya and backup Carson Kelly have played well to this point, so that should allow Ballesteros to lean into his strength of hitting as his audition for a role with the Cubs going forward in 2025.

As for the extent of Happ's injury, that will be something to monitor, as well.

The slugger has still had an OPS+ above the league average of 100 despite not hitting the long ball at the same rate he has in the past, so getting him back to full health will be important.