Overnight, Cubs prospect Moisés Ballesteros went from playing MLB The Show to being in The Show

Moisés Ballesteros was playing MLB The Show on Monday when Triple-A Iowa manager Marty Pevey called to deliver the stunning news that left the Chicago Cubs prospect feeling like he should throw the controller in celebration and disbelief.

After putting up video game numbers, Ballesteros was ticketed for Chicago and his major-league debut. His parents, Andry and Harry, had just traveled from Venezuela, expecting to watch their son play this week in Des Moines. Those plans changed when Cubs left fielder Ian Happ strained an oblique muscle, requiring a stay on the 10-day injured list that created an opening.

Looking for instant offense, the Cubs promoted Ballesteros, who has a stocky 5-foot-8 build, an innate understanding of the strike zone and a sweet left-handed swing. Overnight, he went from an online gamer to the designated hitter at Wrigley Field.

“He’s got a gift to hit,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

That gift will need time to flourish, which is why it’s so important that Ballesteros is getting this exposure in the middle of May, with a first-place team, in front of a roaring crowd of 38,083. He wasn’t the star of Tuesday’s 5-4 comeback win over the Miami Marlins, going 0-for-4 while hitting four groundballs, including an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the fourth. Through an interpreter, he acknowledged that he was “a bit anxious” and “the nerves got the better of me today.”

But there is always tomorrow. And the value of experience was underlined by Justin Turner, who has almost as many years in professional baseball (20) as Ballesteros has years on this planet (21). Turner, who had entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, lined a 2-run, walk-off double into the left-field corner to complete the victory. Right now, the Cubs don’t need Ballesteros to be the hero.

“Those are the moments that the big leagues offer, that this place offers,” Counsell said. “They change you, right? They just do. They change all of us, right? Going through them more gets you a little more comfortable. I’m sure, tonight at home, he’ll go over his feelings in those spots and get better the next time.”

Offensively, Ballesteros has nothing left to prove at the Triple-A level, where he began this season by batting .368 with a .942 OPS and 50 hits in 34 games. That production against older and more experienced competition continued a trend that started in the Dominican Summer League and kept going in the Arizona Complex League, at Class-A affiliates and Double-A Tennessee, and in the Arizona Fall League.

“He’s been the youngest player on his team for his whole career, and he’s always been one of the better hitters,” Counsell said. “It’s impressive. Every year, you look up and you’re saying, ‘He’s doing that at this age at that level.’ You can’t help but take notice.”

Ballesteros was the main attraction for the seven cameras that filmed his pregame media session in the home dugout. He answered questions from reporters in Spanish and English, a skill he picked up in the minor leagues while making a point to communicate with American teammates on and off the field, knowing that grounding would be particularly important for a catcher.

“I don’t really see myself as ‘the young kid,’” Ballesteros said. “When I was in the academy, I interacted with a lot of older players. I was around a lot of older players. I played against a lot of older players. So I just associated myself as being like them. I never really thought of myself as a young kid.”

Though “it’s possible” that Ballesteros could get some innings behind the plate during this homestand against the Marlins and White Sox, Counsell said “that wasn’t the intent of calling him up.” Essentially, Ballesteros could get a weeklong audition at DH while Happ recovers. Ballesteros, though, will shadow catchers Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly, to absorb parts of the team’s game-planning system.

“He’s going to participate in all pregame meetings with the starter and the catcher,” Counsell said. “That’s a little added benefit. I don’t see this as the time when we’re going to see a lot of catching duties. This, hopefully, is a little week that he gets to sit in and understand (what we do) so that when he does (catch), he’s a little more prepared.”

Counsell’s larger point about Ballesteros’ development is that he simply hasn’t played that many professional games at catcher (254), meaning he needs more reps before the organization can draw any conclusions about his defensive future. Besides, if Ballesteros gets comfortable and rakes, the Cubs can figure out the rest later.

“Wrigley Field is amazing,” Ballesteros said. “It’s a new experience, a new stadium, but it’s the same goals.”

And what are those goals?

Ballesteros did not hesitate, answering in English: “To stay here in The Show.”

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