Hot-hitting rookie Ballesteros cracks Cubs' Wild Card roster

CHICAGO – While Kyle Tucker spent three-plus weeks on the injured list in September, Cubs rookie Moisés Ballesteros was asked to help carry some of the offensive load. As his confidence grew and the numbers followed, Ballesteros swiftly found himself hitting in the heart of Chicago’s lineup.

Even with Tucker back in the fold, the 21-year-old Ballesteros showed enough to convince the Cubs to keep his bat in the mix against the Padres for the National League Wild Card Series, which begins Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT (ABC) at Wrigley Field. Simply put: Ballesteros hit his way onto the roster for the first round of the postseason for the North Siders.

“Moisés is playing at a really high level,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said during the last homestand. “Where he’s hitting in the lineup should tell you a lot. He’s contributing offensively, significantly. That’s real. And that matters. Absolutely we’re taking note of it.”

Ballesteros – Pipeline’s No. 2 Cubs prospect and No. 50 on the Top 100 list – has mostly served as a designated hitter for Chicago, but offers depth at catcher and first base, too. In 20 games overall in the Majors this year, he posted a .298/.394/.474 slash line with two homers, two doubles, one triple, 11 RBIs and nine walks.

After a 1-for-14 start to his MLB career, Ballesteros began to look more like the hitter who thrived with Triple-A Iowa this season (.316/.385/.473 with 13 homers, 29 doubles and 76 RBIs in 114 games). Hitting from the left side, Ballesteros hit at a .356 clip with a 1.020 OPS in his last 16 games this season.

“He’s been super impressive,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said recently. “Obviously, the production had been really good, but I think even the underlying numbers – you look at his walk-to-strikeout ratio and things – that’s hard to do as a 21-year-old in the big leagues in September. He’s a really good hitter. And there’s more to his game than that.”

Here is the Cubs’ full 26-man roster for the Wild Card Series:

Catchers (2): Carson Kelly, Reese McGuire

First base (1): Michael Busch

Second base (1): Nico Hoerner

Shortstop (1): Dansby Swanson

Third base (1): Matt Shaw

Designated hitter (1): Moisés Ballesteros

Outfielders (5): Kevin Alcántara, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Kyle Tucker

Utility (2): Willi Castro, Justin Turner

Starters (3): Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon

Relievers (9): Aaron Civale, Brad Keller, Andrew Kittredge, Daniel Palencia, Drew Pomeranz, Colin Rea, Taylor Rogers, Michael Soroka, Caleb Thielbar