It's easy to overreact to numbers in the first couple of months of baseball season. Every year, some guys who are career below average hitters start off scorching hot, and some perennial all stars start off the season in a slump. It happens, that's just how baseball is. Through the first 8 games of the season, Moisés Ballesteros couldn't buy a hit, and the usual crowd of overreactors had already seen enough of Mo Baller.
Ballesteros would soon show this group why their early pessimism was foolish, and by April 24th, Mo was leading all NL rookies in essentially every offensive category. Unfortunately, after his incredible stretch, Ballesteros has fallen off the face of the earth, going 2-36 (.056) since April 27th. Once again, many Cubs fans are in a state of complete panic regarding Ballesteros, and while there may be some merit to the panic this time in comparison to the start of the season, there are many reasons to believe that he will once again break out of his slump sooner than later.
Why Cubs fans should lower their panic levels on Mo Baller
There's no shortage of reasons as to why Ballesteros' struggles shouldn't be a focal concern of Cubs fans at the moment. It's already well known that the kid can break out of a slump, it's just a matter of when he'll break out of this one. And, even despite hitting 2 for 36 since April 27th, Ballesteros still has a .265 batting average and .827 ops, both of which are above league average.
The Cubs are 27-14 sitting atop the NL Central with a 3.5 game lead on both the Brewers and Cardinals. They still have the 2nd best record in all of baseball, as well as two above average catchers in Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya, meaning Mo Baller can fully channel his focus into getting back on track. While he does that, Michael Conforto has become an elite bat for Chicago and has filled in exceptionally at DH to give Ballesteros a few days off.
How Craig Counsell can help return Ballesteros to form
Through most of Ballesteros' sensational run, he was hitting in the 5 or 6 hole. In these at bats, he hit an absurd 16 for 31 with an ops above 1500. The way the game has evolved, MLB managers have learned to just put your best hitters at the top of the lineup to get them as many at bats as possible, which is exactly what Craig Counsell did with Ballesteros. After moving him to the 2 hole and moving Michael Busch down in the order is when the struggles began. It's safe to say that 4 hits through 37 at bats in the 2 spot isn't going to cut it, and it may be time to move Busch back up to his usual spot given that he's finally found his stride again at the plate. Moving Mo Baller back to where he was crushing in the lineup could play a small, but crucial role in rejuvenating the young slugger's bat.
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