One of the Chicago Cubs’ most respected prospects, catcher Moises Ballesteros, will continue his exceptional season in the Arizona Fall League next month.
He is one of two Top 30 Cubs prospects expected to participate. Ballesteros is ranked No. 4 by MLB Pipeline and is also considered the game’s No. 41 prospect.
The other Cubs Top 30 prospect is infielder Benjamin Cowles (No. 30).
The rest of the Chicago prospects selected were right-handed pitchers Grant Kipp, Shane Marshall, Aaron Perry, Vince Reilly, Luis Rujano and Sam Thoresen. First baseman Jonathon Long was also selected.
Earlier this season, Baseball America named Ballesteros the Cubs’ top midseason prospect, as he became a rarity in the game — a 20-year-old everyday player at Triple-A. The only other one there was at the time was Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday, who is now in the Majors.
Ballesteros also represented the Cubs at the MLB Futures game with Matt Shaw and James Triantos, though Ballesteros only participated in the skills challenge.
Already in his fourth pro season, he finished this year with a slash line of .289/.354/.471/.825 with 19 home runs and 78 RBI. The home runs and the RBI were a career high for him. He could be the future at the position
Cowles is new to the organization, as he came to Chicago in the Mark Leiter Jr. trade. The former Yankees farmhand didn’t play much during the season due to a chipped bone in his right wrist.
But in 92 games he finished with a slash line of .286/.372/.457/.829 with nine home runs and 51 RBI.
Chicago will play with the Mesa Solar Sox in Mesa, Ariz., the Cubs’ spring training home. Chicago’s prospects will play alongside prospects from the Los Angeles Angels, the Oakland Athletics, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox.
The other five teams in the AFL play in Glendale, , Peoria, Salt River, Scottsdale and Surprise.
AFL action starts on Oct. 7 and since it was founded in 1992 more than 3,000 players have participated and moved on to the Majors at some point.
During the season, there are several special events, including a tripleheader at Goodyear Ballpark on Oct. 19, a game at Grand Canyon University on Oct. 25 and a doubleheader at American Family Fields of Phoenix on Oct. 26.
The Fall Stars game is set for Nov. 9 at Sloan Park, with the annual home run derby set for Nov. 8.
When the season concludes on Nov. 14, there will be a play-in semifinal game between the second- and third-place finishers in the standings on Nov. 15 at Scottsdale Stadium. The championship game is held the next day at Salt River Fields.
