Cubs Prospect Matt Halbach Named Carolina League Player of Week

The Chicago Cubs believe they have a future third baseman in Matt Shaw. But it doesn’t hurt to have depth.

The Cubs may have that depth in Matt Halbach. The former college third baseman was named the Carolina League player of the week for his performance from July 28-Aug. 3 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Cubs’ Class-A affiliate.

This was Halbach’s first weekly honor in his first professional season.

Cubs Prospect Matt Halbach’s Award-Winning Week

Halbach played in all six games last week against the Charleston River Dogs. He slashed .478/.536/.739 with a 1.275 OPS. He went 11-for-23 at the plate with one home run and nine RBI. He also had three doubles, struck out twice and walked three times.

He saved his best for the weekend games. On Saturday, he made seven plate appearances and went 4-for-5 with a walk. He had a double and drove in four runs. On Sunday he went 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Halbach played all of his games last week at first base, which could be a nod to the fact that the Cubs need him to cross-train at the other side of the diamond if Shaw is truly their future at third base.

Of course, the Cubs have a fine first base option in Michael Busch, who is under team control through 2030. Halbach likely has a few more years ahead of him before he’s ready to challenge for a full-time job.

For the season, he has slashed .245/.365/.387 with a .752 OPS in 75 games. He has seven home runs and 45 RBI, along with 16 doubles. He has struck out 64 times and walked 38 times.

Matt Halbach’s Cubs History

The Cubs drafted Halbach out of UC San Diego in the 10th round of the 2024 MLB draft. While at UCSD, he was considered a Top 100 prospect but only played 19 games before an injury ended his season.

Due to the injury, he didn’t play professionally last season.

Matt Halbach — Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

But he had a great 19 games, as he had a 15-game hitting streak and got on base in all 19 games. He slashed .408/.511/.662 with three home runs and 18 RBI. He also had 23 runs and nine doubles, along with eight multi-hit games and four multi-RBI performances.

In 2023 he was named to the all-Big West first team after he ranked third on the team with a .306 batting average and ranked 14th in the Big West with 63 total hits.

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