Inside The Cubs

Why Matt Shaw’s Second Half At The Plate Shows He’s Set For A Breakout Year Two

The Cubs' third baseman just finished his rookie year and he found his stride after the All-Star break.
Maddy Dickens|
Sep 19, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw (6) high fives teammates after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Sep 19, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw (6) high fives teammates after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

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Chicago Cubs

There has been plenty of speculation on Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw and his future with the team after his rookie season. Shaw finished the year with .a 226 batting average and .295 on-base percentage.

Shaw struggled badly in the first months of the season. So much so that the team considered dealing him as the trade deadline neared.

However, after the All-Star break, it was as if a different player showed up, with Shaw completing a 180-degree turnaround. He found his swing and stepped up for the Cubs in a big way to help secure a 92-win season and the team's spot in the playoffs.

Matt Shaw hitting a single against the Mets at the end of the season at Wrigley Fiel
Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Shaw's 2025 Journey

Pre All-Star Break

If someone said Shaw was unable to contribute at the plate in the first half, they wouldn't be lying. He batted .198 with an OPS of .556 in his first months in a Cubs uniform.

Shaw was unable to find a groove, and if not for his performance in May, where he showcased his true potential batting .359 in 11 games, it seems unlikely that the organization would have kept him on the roster.

Matt Shaw
Matt Shaw | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Post All-Star Break

A new player emerged when the team needed him to, as both Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker were in a rut of their own. By the time he wrapped up September, he had a more than respectable slash line of .258/.317/.522 to give him an OPS of .839. Eleven of his 13 home runs in 2025 came during this time, as well as 66% of his RBI.

And he simply kept getting better. In his final games of September, he batted .320 while slugging a .720 with the stakes of a playoff birth on the line.

Shaw was only drafted back in the summer of 2023, and the 24-year-old was ready to take on a full-time role in the majors less than two years later. He came through for them time and time again, especially on the defensive side, which is why he was a Gold Glove Award finalist this year.

It is clear his first season wasn't perfect, but he showed resilience and mental toughness as he stepped up both offensively and defensively for the team.

The Cubs need to be able to count on some of the guys currently on the roster to make up for the production that Kyle Tucker will take with him. With a second-half finish like that, Shaw is likely ready to break out in his second season.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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