There have been so many fun prospects to follow in the Chicago Cubs minor league system this season and the latest to catch everyone’s attention is 2023 first round pick Matt Shaw. The 21-year-old shortstop out of Maryland, was taken with the 13th overall pick and after a few weeks in A-Ball, the Cubs are promoting the fast-rising prospect up to Double-A, with the Tennessee Smokies.
According to The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Keith Law, the Cubs are bumping Shaw up to the next level after an impressive showing at Advanced A-Ball with the South Bend Cubs.
The right-handed hitting infielder currently ranks third in OPS among all position players drafted this past year, posting a 1.135 OPS in 23 total games between the Arizona Complex League and Advanced A-Ball.
On Friday night, Shaw blasted two home runs en route to a three-hit game and then he recorded three more hits on Saturday before getting Sunday off with South Bend.
At this pace, Shaw might be the quickest Cubs prospect to reach the majors since Nico Hoerner made his MLB debut in early Sept. 2019, after he was taken in the first round out of Stanford in 2018. Hoerner, who like Shaw, was seen as an advanced college hitter, only played in 89 minor league games before the Cubs called him in the final month of the 2019 season.
However, the Hoerner call up then was more out of need and desperation, as the Cubs were hit with several injuries at once late in the season. Shaw might very well earn a starting role sometime in 2024 if he keeps up his outstanding play in the minor leagues. Although the Cubs middle infield is fairly secure with Hoerner and Dansby Swanson, questions still remain surrounding third base and who will take the reins at the hot corner.
Before Hoerner, the Cubs had a quicker call up in 2015, promoting Kyle Schwarber to the show just a little over a year after he was the fourth overall pick in the draft.
If the Cubs feel Shaw can quickly come in and become a suitable starter at third base as soon as next year, then their free agent plans might be altered. Again, as of now there really isn’t a clear starter at third, with Jeimer Candelario and Nick Madrigal splitting time at the position since the trade deadline. Candelario will be a free agent following the 2023 season.
Shaw ended his college career by winning Big Ten Player of the Year, posting a 1.142 OPS in 62 games during his junior season at Maryland.
The Tennessee Smokies will begin a series at home against Biloxi, Tuesday night at 6 p.m. central time.
