Cubs prospect Moisés Ballesteros recalls humble beginnings, advice from Willson Contreras as he sits one step away from majors

As a baseball-mad kid in Los Teques, Venezuela, Moisés Ballesteros craved to hit.
His dad, Harry, was always more than happy to feed his eldest son’s desire to do just that.
At their home, the elder Ballesteros would toss corn kernels to Moisés, who would whack them into the air as if they were pearly white baseballs in a major-league stadium. The family lived near the town’s stadium, so they would frequent it when possible and Moisés would hit real baseballs there, too.
Whether it was corn or an actual baseball, Harry gave tips and offered feedback.
“My dad has always helped me since I was little, since I was like 6,” Moisés — now a minor leaguer and the 46th-ranked prospect in baseball, per the Athletic’s Keith Law — said at Cubs Convention. “My dad has always been my hitting coach. He’s always helped me when I was younger.”
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As a professional player a phone call away from the majors, the catcher still leans on his first hitting coach for advice.
After every game, Ballesteros knows he can pick up his phone and either fire off messages with his dad or call him to see what he thinks about his most recent games.
“He watches all my games and tells me things like, ‘Son, I’m seeing that you’re cheating forward a bit. You’re not letting the ball come to you,’” Ballesteros said. “Sometimes he asks me if I’m tired because he sees me playing. Honestly, I’m really thankful that my dad is that person that I have there for me.”
Ballesteros finds comfort that — more often than not — the message that Harry is delivering echoes what Cubs coaches like Marco Romero and Rachel Folden deliver to the talented hitter.
“Honestly it’s good because now I have the opinion of three people and not just one,” Ballesteros said. “That helps me and I can make the adjustments, and I know what I have to execute every time I go to work.”
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The 21-year-old isn’t naïve, though.
The scouting report on him makes no secret that he can hit — it’s whether his work behind the plate can catch up with his bat. His hitting can help him reach the majors — and his defense can assist in making him a complete player and staying in “The Show.”
This offseason, he’s been diligently working to make catching another strength of his.
Ballesteros worked on slimming down a bit and becoming more mobile. He also changed his setup behind the plate, adopting a one-knee catching stance that has become popular. It’s been an uncomfortable adjustment, but one that’s improving.
“My weaker side is with my right knee on the ground and when I stretch to the left,” he said. “I feel a bit tight, but in the offseason, I worked on that a lot and now, thanks to God, I’m more mobile to that side.”
That change should help him steal more strikes for his pitchers and make him a more well-rounded backstop.
“It helps a bit more because you’re on one knee and you make fewer movements,” Ballesteros said. “You follow the path of the ball and things like that a bit easier.”
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Through his fast ascension through the Cubs’ minor league ladder — he was just 20 years old when he debuted in Triple-A last season, 6 years younger than the average player at the level — Ballesteros has tried to be both a sponge and remain true to himself.
That was the message he received as a teenager when he first arrived in the States from his favorite player growing up, Willson Contreras.
In 2022, Ballesteros was an 18-year-old and fresh from the Cubs’ complex in the Dominican Republic when he arrived in Arizona for Spring Training. Contreras was in his final year with the Cubs at the time and remains a role model to many Venezuelan catchers across the league — he’s the standard for them in a lot of ways.
The World Series champion spoke with Ballesteros and offered advice.
“‘Work hard and keep doing what you’re doing today because that will make you grande — big,’” Contreras said.
That stuck with Ballesteros.
“It was a big impact for me,” Ballesteros said. “I was super impressed that he gave me some words of advice. It was something that motivated me a lot because he gave me the advice that if I kept going like I’m going — I’m going well — I would get good results.
“And I have been the same person today and I haven’t changed.”
That mentality has him one step from the majors — ready to prove that the kid who was crushing corn kernels back in Los Teques, Venezuela with his dad can do the same in against the world’s best.