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Angels' Moises Ballesteros: Getting start at catcher Thursday
Rotowire
Ballesteros will start at catcher and bat sixth in Thursday's game versus the Orioles.
Ballesteros' first two starts with the Angels came from the designated-hitter spot, but he'll get a turn behind the plate in Thursday's series finale. It will mark his ninth game at catcher this season, leaving him just one game shy of picking up eligibility at the position in many fantasy leagues.
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Angels' Moises Ballesteros: Starting at DH in Angels debut
Rotowire
Ballesteros will start at designated hitter and bat sixth in Tuesday's game against the Orioles.
Ballesteros was acquired from the Cubs in a trade Monday and will be thrown right into the lineup. That the left-handed-hitting Ballesteros is getting a start versus a lefty in Cade Povich is an encouraging sign that the Angels plan to give him everyday reps down the stretch. Ballesteros is a career .249/.328/.408 hitter with a 10.8 percent walk rate and 19.9 percent strikeout so far in the majors.
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Angels' Moises Ballesteros: Lands opportunity with Halos
Rotowire
The Angels acquired Ballesteros and right-hander Mason McGwire from the Cubs on Monday in exchange for right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Ballesteros had been playing regularly at Triple-A Iowa over the past six weeks, but he may not have to wait long to receive another look in the majors with the Angels, either as a designated hitter or as an option at catcher. The 22-year-old is firmly a bat-first catching prospect, though the Angels will likely have more patience than the Cubs in overseeing his development behind the dish. After recently dealing away Logan O'Hoppe, the Angels are left with the underwhelming veteran duo of Travis d'Arnaud and Tyler Heineman as their catching tandem, and it wouldn't be surprising if Ballesteros was prioritized ahead of them down the stretch. Ballesteros has already demonstrated himself to be a big-league-caliber hitter, producing a .249/.328/.408 slash line with a 10.8 percent walk rate and 19.9 percent strikeout rate over 241 career plate appearances with the Cubs.
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Cubs' Moises Ballesteros: Out of lineup against lefty
Rotowire
Ballesteros is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies.
Left-hander Sean Sullivan will start for the Rockies, so the Cubs will send the left-handed Ballesteros to the bench and swap a righty bat (Matt Shaw) into the lineup. The Cubs have gone out of their way to shield Ballesteros from lefties this season, with the 22-year-old having logged just eight of his 175 plate appearances against same-handed pitching.
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Cubs' Moises Ballesteros: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Ballesteros was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Elias Schuster of SI.com reports.
Ballesteros will head to Iowa after struggling to a .128 average with one home run, seven RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base over 94 at-bats in his last 34 contests. The 22-year-old will look to hit the reset button at the Triple-A level and then get another shot with the major-league roster down the road this year.
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Cubs' Moises Ballesteros: Resting up Tuesday
Rotowire
Ballesteros isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Colorado.
Ballesteros will retreat to the bench Tuesday after going just 2-for-14 across his last five games. His absence will give Seiya Suzuki a start as the Cubs' designated hitter, opening up right field for Matt Shaw.
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Cubs' Moises Ballesteros: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Ballesteros is not in the starting lineup Sunday night versus St. Louis.
Ballesteros will head to the bench as Chicago squares off with southpaw Matthew Liberatore in the series finale. Kevin Alcantara will draw his first start since being called up from Triple-A Iowa on May 23, batting eighth while handling the designated hitter role.
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Cubs' Moises Ballesteros: Regaining traction in lineup
Rotowire
Ballesteros will start at designated hitter and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Pirates.
Just when he appeared to have ceded primary DH duties to Michael Conforto, Ballesteros has re-emerged to take back playing time at that spot in the lineup. Ballesteros will be awarded a fifth consecutive start after going 2-for-9 with a 5:3 BB:K and a run scored over the previous four contests. The Cubs will still look to shield Ballesteros from left-handed pitching, but he could continue to see the bulk of the starts at DH versus righties if he can continue to get on base at a steady clip.
Ballesteros is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Brewers.
On the bench for a third straight matchup versus a right-handed starting pitcher (Brandon Sproat), Ballesteros appears to ceded the Cubs' primary designated-hitter role to Michael Conforto. After piling up 10 extra-base hits (five home runs, five doubles) through his first 25 games of the season, Ballesteros is slashing just .065/.137/.130 over his subsequent 14 contests.
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Cubs' Moises Ballesteros: Sitting down Saturday
Rotowire
Ballesteros isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the White Sox.
After going eight straight games without a hit, Ballesteros notched a single in Friday's win to break his streak. He'll step out of the lineup to begin Saturday's contest, putting Ian Happ in the DH spot and allowing Michael Conforto to start in left field.
Ballesteros isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers.
Ballesteros will take a day to regroup after going 0-for-11 at the plate across his last four games. Michael Conforto will step in as the Cubs' designated hitter and bat second.
Ballesteros went 2-for-4 with a walk, a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 8-4 win over the Diamondbacks.
Ballesteros snapped an 0-for-16 slump across his previous four games with a strong performance Sunday. Even following the mini cold spell, the 22-year-old is having a tremendous season with a .317/.380/.598 slash line, six home runs and 18 RBI across 30 contests. The Cubs also announced recently that Ballesteros would begin to see more playing time behind the plate, which should elevate his fantasy appeal once he gains eligibility at catcher in most formats.
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