Top Prospect Is Starting To Fix Third Base Issue for Cubs With Strong Month

Is Matt Shaw the answer for the Chicago Cubs at third base?

May 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw (6) celebrates after hitting a walk-off single during the eleventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field. | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs have been playing excellent baseball all year long, and a major reason why has been their offense.

After the Cubs had a strong offseason, expectations for the team went up significantly heading into 2025. So far, Chicago has been able to live up to that hype thanks to a high-powered offense.

The addition of Kyle Tucker might have been expensive, but it has been a move that has worked out.

Tucker has been a National League MVP candidate so far and appears to have been the missing piece for the lineup. Furthermore, Pete Crow-Armstrong has also emerged as a star for the team with his hitting matching his fielding and running abilities.

However, while the offense overall has been great, one position that has been a struggle for the team this year has been third base.

Will Top Prospect Matt Shaw Be the Answer?

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw being key for turning things around at the hot corner.

“Since getting called back up a little over a week ago, Matt Shaw is hitting .346 and looks much more like the NL Rookie of the Year candidate they were hoping for back on Opening Day.”

Coming into the campaign, it was Shaw who was slated to be the starting third baseman for Chicago. The top prospect was able to accomplish quite a bit in the minors over the last couple years to earn this opportunity. However, he didn’t get off to a great start, so the Cubs sent him back to the minors to reset.

That decision has seemingly paid off.

Shaw has been hitting the cover off the ball in May with a slash line of .382/.432/.529, five doubles and five stolen bases.

The young slugger projects to be a 20/20 type of player in the future, so his recent performance should be very encouraging.

Overall, there is still a lot of work to be done to improve the season-long numbers on offense at the hot corner, but calling Shaw back up has helped get the team on the right track in that area.

As a young player, there will surely be some ups and downs as the year progresses, but Shaw is a highly-touted prospect who can be the answer to Chicago’s problems at third base.