2025 Fantasy Baseball: Matt Shaw Profile, Preview, Predictions
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Matt Shaw looked poised to have starting at-bats for the Cubs in 2025, but Chicago signed Justub Turner to steal some of his playing time. He has an excellent combination of power and speed that will be an edge once Shaw gets comfortable with major-league pitching.
Matt Shaw hits his first home run of Spring Training! pic.twitter.com/MdZjnH5WIb
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 8, 2024
3B – Matt Shaw, CHC (ADP – 206.7)
After success over three seasons (.320/172/53/166/37 over 693 at-bats) at Maryland, the Cubs selected Shaw 13th overall in the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft. Chicago gave him 38 games over three levels in the minors in 2023, leading to a .357 batting average with 27 runs, eight home runs, 28 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. Last year, he split time between AA (.279/60/14/50/25 over 312 at-bats) and AAA (.298/18/7/21/6 over 131 at-bats).
His average hit rate (1.720) in the minors is close to a 30-home-run hitter with 550 at-bats. Shaw had a favorable approach (strikeout rate – 17.3 and walk rate – 10.2), inviting a quick move up the batting order for the Cubs once his bat shows life in the majors.
Fantasy Outlook: With only 131 at-bats of experience at AAA, Shaw may need some time to find his stride with Chicago. He has an excellent chance of making the majors out of spring training, and his foundation skill set points to a 25/30 player early in his career.
Speed at third base tends to be an advantage, highlighted by the success of Jose Ramirez in his career. Shaw has a David Wright feel while being a half-season away from hitting his stride.
RANKINGS
Top 5 Catchers | Catchers 6-10 | Catchers 11-15
Top 5 First Basemen | First Basemen 6-10 | First Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Second Basemen | Second Basemen 6-10 | Second Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Shortstops | Shortstops 6-10 | Shortstops 11-15
Top 5 Third Basemen | Third Basemen 6-10 | Third Basemen 11-15
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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