Craig Counsell to Cubs hitting coaches: Don’t mess with Moisés Ballesteros
MESA, Ariz. — As Craig Counsell addressed members of his teaching workers, the Chicago Cubs supervisor gave them particular directions concerning Moisés Ballesteros, a naturally proficient 22-year-old prospect from Venezuela. This approach, nothing could be misplaced in translation.
Counsell has a poker face and a big-picture view of the group. He stays concerned in all features of baseball operations with out coming throughout as a micromanager. He used his dry humorousness to make a degree about Ballesteros, who’s solely scratching the floor of his huge potential.
“I’ve suggested to the hitting coaches that they stay away from him,” Counsell stated. “I did have a meeting with the hitting coaches at one point this spring. I called them all together, and they got a little nervous. I said, ‘You guys should stay away from Ballesteros.’
“Joking, you know, but they got the message.”
The temptation, of course, would be trying to do more with Ballesteros, giving him extra information and different ideas in hopes of speeding up his learning curve. Between advancements in technology and the expansion of major-league staffs, every swing in the batting cage can be measured and dissected.
Cubs officials lobbied Mesa politicians for nearly $17 million worth of upgrades to their Arizona training complex, and a large building that houses the club’s new hitting and pitching labs now stands in the middle of their sprawling campus.
After about a decline of hiring and firing hitting coaches on a seemingly annual basis, the Cubs have found a stable group of instructors to provide continuity, which helped Pete Crow-Armstrong develop into an All-Star. Chicago’s coaches have established individualized game-planning routines and emphasized a team-wide offensive approach to counteract Wrigley Field’s unpredictable conditions.
Ballesteros has shown more than enough flashes — the left-handed hitter launched two homers off Los Angeles Angels pitcher Alek Manoah on St. Patrick’s Day — that Counsell wants to remain patient and temper expectations. Even, apparently, among his own coaches.
“It was a joke,” Counsell said, “however he is so younger and he does numerous issues effectively. He’s going to enhance. I feel sometime Moisés will hit numerous house runs. I do not suppose it will be this yr, however I feel sometime he is going to hit numerous house runs.
“Because when you hit two balls like that, you see it’s in there. With his gifts, and as he gets more experience and learns pitchers and learns his swing and things like that, he’s definitely capable of doing that.”
Although Ballesteros is listed at 5 toes 10 inches and 225 kilos within the 2026 media information, he is surprisingly athletic. Cub scout remembered him as a teenager in Venezuela operating the 60-yard sprint in 6.8 seconds, an above-average velocity. Five years in the past, his knack for understanding the strike zone, mixed with his long-term potential as a catcher, landed him a $1.2 million signing bonus.
Counsell declined to instantly reply questions on whether or not Ballesteros would be the membership’s Opening Day designated hitter subsequent week or whether or not the Cubs may pair their third catcher with a specific beginning pitcher to guarantee he will get common time behind the plate.
Privately, Cubs officers rave about Ballesteros’ really feel for hitting in a approach that implies he’ll get the possibility to show himself. That will probably come as the first DH within the multipart plan to substitute Kyle Tucker, the All-Star who signed a four-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya primarily considered as co-starters, Ballesteros does not have a direct alternative at catcher, however the Cubs are preserving that chance open.
“Moises is a very instinctual baseball player,” Counsell stated. “He really feels the game and understands the game. That’s probably a product of catching a lot. That’s going to be a strength.”
The Cubs gave Crow-Armstrong a protracted runway to determine issues out as a result of he supplied nice protection in heart discipline. Right now, it is exhausting to see how Ballesteros will make a lot of a defensive contribution, which is able to put much more stress on him to produce offensively for a big-market workforce with excessive expectations.
At some level, it may make sense to ship Ballesteros again to Triple-A Iowa in order that he can work on his protection and solidify himself because the catcher of the longer term. But he has already conquered minor-league pitching (.829 OPS over 1,900-plus plate appearances). And his robust audition final September — whereas Tucker was sidelined — earned him a spot on Chicago’s roster for each playoff rounds.
Now, within the remaining days of spring coaching, Ballesteros resides up to his fame as a man who merely does not cease hitting.
“It’s just a little bit of everything,” Counsell stated. “The thing that we were so impressed with last year was the ball just went all over the field — hard all over the field. The power, the exit velocity indicate that the home runs will come at some point. There’s just a lot of ingredients to like.”
