Checking in on Former Smokies
July 31, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Knoxville Smokies News Release
Moises Ballesteros with the Tennessee Smokies
(, Credit: Lindsay Coward)
The Chicago Cubs have had a wealth of talent come up through their organization in recent years. As a result, many of those players have played for the Smokies and moved on to the next level and are now top prospects in Chicago's organization.
As many of these future stars are still young, most of their action has taken place with the Iowa Cubs with a select few getting the chance to show off their skills in the majors. Among the former Smokies making waves at the higher levels, none has been more impressive than Moises Ballesteros, who recently earned another shot at the big leagues.
Moises Ballesteros earns a second chance
After the 21-year-old from Venezuela had an outstanding month of April, leading qualified players on the Iowa Cubs in batting average (.420), OBP (.480), SLG (.648), and OPS (1.128), Moises Ballesteros was called up to the majors and made his MLB Debut in mid-May.
Although his first stint in the majors was brief, Ballesteros was able to collect his first major league hit and RBI. His numbers may not have been that impressive, hitting just .188 in his five games. However, Ballesteros only struck out once and was able to have some quality at-bats.
After being sent back down to Triple-A by the end of May, Ballesteros picked up where he left off. In the month of June, he hit .299 with an .848 OPS. In July, he once again led the team in batting average (.351) and was top three on the team in OBP (.417), SLG (.514) and OPS (.931).
Ballesteros' continued dominance in Triple-A has forced Chicago's front office to give him another chance at the big league level, with Miguel Amaya still recovering from injury and Reese McGuire hitting just about league average behind Carson Kelly.
This stint could be short-lived once again, as Amaya seems relatively close to a return, but Ballesteros has already gotten off on the right foot. In Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Ballesteros went 1-2 as the starting DH. His one hit, a two-out, three-RBI double to extend Chicago's lead in the third inning. Chicago went on to beat Milwaukee 10-3.
While Ballesteros gets his shot in the majors, another former Smokie continues his development in Triple-A.
James Triantos adjusts to Triple-A
After a brief stint in Triple-A to end the 2024 season, James Triantos is still adjusting to the new level in 2025. In his one month in Iowa last year, Triantos hit .302 with a .735 OPS. The strong finish to the 2024 season earned him an invite to Major League Spring Training.
After a strong spring season, hitting .280 and slugging .440, Triantos struggled coming out of the gate in Iowa. In April, he hit just .205 and had an OPS just over .500. While the early numbers seemed bleak for the 22-year-old, he has been able to turn it around over the course of the season.
In May, Triantos stepped up. While his numbers were not anything jaw-dropping, they were certainly a drastic improvement. During the month of May, he hit .263 and boosted his OPS over 160 points. In June, he really elevated his performance. While he was plagued a bit by injury, Triantos came back with a vengeance, slashing .273/.306/.394 in eight rehab games in High-A and .300/.333/.700 in five games in Triple-A.
Triantos has mellowed out some in July, hitting .263 once again during that month, bringing his season slash line to .259/.310/.355 for Triple-A. While Chicago's No. 10 overall prospect may not have the most impressive numbers on paper, his improvements over his first campaign in Triple-A have not gone unnoticed.
Triantos has made more consistent, quality contact this season as well. From 2024 to 2025, his barrel percentage has gone up almost two percent, his hard hit rate has gone up almost 10%, and both his average exit velocity and his maximum exit velocity have increased. All of these stats are from Triple-A over the last two seasons.
Triantos has also learned to use more of the entire field when hitting. While most of his balls in play were pulled or hit up the middle last season, he has been able to hit the ball to all fields more consistently this season.
Triantos has avoided rolling over thanks to more consistent hard contact, shown by a high percentage of fly balls pulled to left field and ground balls batted to the opposite field. The improvements in his contact quality show promise and could be a good sign for things to come. Don't forget to check in every Thursday/Friday for more updates on your favorite former Smokies. You can find the articles at www.milb.com/knoxville/news.
Images from this story
 Moises Ballesteros with the Tennessee Smokies (Lindsay Coward) |
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
