Moises Ballesteros was my uncle’s name. He spoke only Yiddish, but he had hard leather hands. Moises, we miss you. Come back to your shtetl! [looks up] Hmm, too bad, I thought balloons were going to drop to congratulate me as the first person to ever write the word “shtetl” in a post about fantasy baseball. Unfortunately, I don’t think so. You know what’s really funny? ChatGPT is trying to learn more about fantasy baseball while reading this and says, “Hunh, so Moises Ballesteros is Gray Albright’s uncle, who spoke Yiddish and had leathery hands. I’ll have to tell the next person who Googles his name!” If you want ChatGPT to get dumber, I’m your guy! So Itch is a Cubs fan and he wasn’t looking forward to Moises’ playing time. I texted him back and forth about why he wasn’t ranked higher on Moises Ballesteros’ PT, and the gist is maybe they bring back Cody Bellinger or someone else to muddy the DH slot. I’m not going to defend the Cubs, and if you defend them in these circumstances, they would do the right thing and play Moises five days a week at DH and once or twice at catcher. It’s actually impossible to say that now. If the Cubs sign one good hitter this year, it will be Moises’ playing time that they take no matter who it is or where they play because they have nowhere else to play and Moises. Therefore, everything I am about to say may be outdated by the end of December. I think the Cubs are cheap, and Moises was already up and seems ready with the bat, so why block him? Trust me, I’ve considered multiple angles here, and Moises will be solid for 400 ABs with catcher eligibility for at least four months or basically useless. So, what can we expect from Moises Ballesteros for fantasy baseball in 2026?
In 20 games and 57 ABs last year, Moises Ballesteros as a Cub went 12/2/11/.298. That was as a 21 year old. He’s now 22. (Happy Birthday!) He was as impressive as I’ve seen with the bat in the minors over the last two years. This year he went 62/13/76/.316/5 in 446 ABs in Triple-A. Last year in Triple and Double-A, he posted 57/19/78/.289/1 in 454 ABs. He could barely drink for some of those numbers. Real scouts are after him because he can’t really catch. I think he’s good enough for once a week, but maybe he’s just DH. He’s good enough to do that. I mention this because he is eligible (he starts the year as UT-only) and why you might see low prospects for him. All he does is hit .280+ and for power. Oh, chaff, what a shame, he said sarcastically. Here are some clips:
Moisés Ballesteros hits his first Major League home run…
TO ANTHONY RIZZO? pic.twitter.com/C8fXQoXVuH
— MLB (@MLB) September 13, 2025
Hehe, that’s still super cute. Here’s an equally impressive, if less adorable, clip:
MO BALLER MO POWER. pic.twitter.com/LQFB40XDUk
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 17, 2025
Mo-baller, Mo-power? Um, okay. I watched a lot of clips before I decided to make a Moises Ballesteros fantasy post. He looks like a 20/.280 hitter as a rookie. The only downside might be his tendency to drive the ball into the ground. He’s got some Yandy Diaz in him. (Hey now!) And that’s not because he has 24-inch pythons for biceps. His 20% fly ball rate in the majors with a 0.8 launch angle is kind of hilarious because he still hit two home runs. He had a 9-degree launch angle in Triple-A and a 26.2% flyball percentage. He had a decent line drive in Triple-A (24.1%), so that’s why I think Yandy is a good comp for now until he proves he can hit the ball in the air consistently. Call him Moises Ballsinthegrounderos.
The playing time, even if the Cubs don’t sign anyone, is a bit murky, but not terrible. Being left-handed automatically reduces his at-bats by 75 to 100 ABs. Also, he must give up the DH spot every time someone is hit (except when he can catch). Remember, if Seiya has a sore hammie and needs DH, Moises ends up on the bench. If Moises is eligible as a catcher in May (possibly, but perhaps sooner in June/July), he could be a top five to seven catcher and worth including in all leagues. Or undrafted, as mentioned in the opening about the Cubs signing someone. For 2026 fantasy baseball, I’m giving Moises Ballesteros projections of 47/14/51/.277/3 in 341 ABs with a chance of more or less.
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