Chicago Cubs Make Crucial Decision on One of Baseball's Top Prospects

Matt Shaw, who enters the season as a Top-20 prospect in baseball, is going to Japan for the looming Tokyo Series, though we aren't exactly sure what that means yet.

Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw makes the off balance throw for an out against the San Diego Padres in the second inning at Sloan Park on March 4. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell made a big revelation on Tuesday, saying that top prospect Matt Shaw is going to Japan for the looming Tokyo Series, which begins on March 18.

Patrick Mooney of the Athletic relayed the message on social media:

The Cubs will play a two-game series against the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Toyko before returning stateside for the domestic opener on March 27.

Now, we don't know yet if Shaw will be the team's starting third baseman or just part of the 31-person roster that gets to go, but he's had the inside track at the third base job ever since the organization traded away Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker deal.

Shaw is ranked as the No. 19 prospect in all of baseball, per MLB Pipeline. Should he play in Tokyo, he will pair with Kyle Tucker and Dansby Swanson in the middle of the Cubs order.

A first-round pick in the 2023 draft out of Maryland, Shaw is a .303 career hitter in the minor leagues. He has just 35 games of Triple-A experience under his belt, but he did hit .298 in those 35 games last year with seven home runs.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Growing up as a Red Sox fan, Shaw modeled his game after similarly sized Dustin Pedroia and balances aggression and discipline just like the four-time All-Star did, repeatedly barreling balls despite an effortful right-handed swing. He manages the strike zone well and uses the entire field. His bat-to-ball ability allows him to get to most of his plus raw power and it plays from foul pole to foul pole.

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