Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 6th round of the 1997 MLB June Amateur Draft (Did not sign) from Cuesta College (San Luis Obispo, CA) and the Seattle Mariners in the 26th round of the 1998 MLB June Amateur Draft from California State University Long Beach (Long Beach, CA), where he played in the College World Series.

Balbuena pitched in the Seattle Mariners and the Colorado Rockies organizations.  In 2004, Balbuena signed with the Kansas City T-Bones of the American Association (Ind).   After appearing in 21 games, the Colorado Rockies purchased Balbuena’s contract from the Kansas City T-Bones.

After retiring from professional pitching, Balbuena began his coaching career in 2008, where he spent two seasons as the pitching coach for the Kansas City T-Bones and one season as pitching coach for the Harlingen Whitewings of the United Baseball League (Ind.).  Additionally, Balbuena went on to serve as the manager of the Whitewings.