Baseball is at its heart, a game of patience and timing. For Matt Shaw, the wait lasted less than two months, but the trip felt long. Chicago’s top position prospects are back in the big leagues that have been recalled from Cub Steam, still looking for consistency at 3 base and sparks at the heart of the pennant race. The first taste of the show’s major was bitter. His second? The Cubs believe that could be different. This time, the swing is simpler. At that moment, perhaps more manageable. And belief – I’m very alive.
Report: Cubs leads mat show is called, @Jonheyman. pic.twitter.com/xm0z4aqsc4
– Marquee Sports Network (@watchmarquee) May 19, 2025
From setback to swing change: Second chance at the show
In mid-April, the numbers told the difficult truth. One home run. Three RBIs. 18 strikeouts with 58 plate appearance. For Matt Shaw, the early returns of his major league debut were not overwhelming and unfamiliar. Games and minors who came naturally through the university suddenly turned into mirrors of adjustment.
The show was sent back to Triple A Iowa. Rebuild, not disappearing.
The focus was mechanical. Leg kicks have been shortened. Intent, simplification. And the swing began to coincide with the promise. In Iowa’s more than 24 games, Shaw hit .286 with a home run six times and an OPS of over .950. More importantly, the ball came out of his bat again with purpose. Driving every field, lifted up with authority and landing where defenses could not reach.
Matt Shaw has five hours in his final 35 PA in Iowa. Has his swing changed since he was sent?
Not so many – the swing mechanics are similar (left: yesterday, right: in the Cubs).
But one subtle difference: his posture appears more upright than it is now. Maybe a tweak to help you feel… pic.twitter.com/9xh9fqvrkn
– Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) May 17, 2025
“He’s become a little passive,” the Cubs attacked coach Dustin Kelly. “Now he’s driving baseball again.”
Baseball does not offer guarantees, it’s just an opportunity. And for the show, the second one arrives with less expectations, but perhaps with a stronger sense of self.
Where the competing lineup is struggling
If Matt Shaw’s bats match their beliefs, the Cubs may find the answer where they ultimately generated the question.
3 The base was blank. There are no home runs. .184 average. OPS ranks as the worst in baseball. Chicago relies on John Berty and Nicky Lopez. The gloves offer stability, but bats don’t offer many others.
The team has a slim lead at National League Central. And in departments where every game is important, not only stability, but production is required. The show brings that possibility. He brings energy again. Confidence. The quiet urgency of players who know what it means to be sent back.
Lopez did not travel to Miami with his team due to all the signs. He is expected to be traded or designated for allocation. It’s a difficult moment for a veteran. But baseball is often a game of timing and I feel that the timing of the show (after a month of adjustment) is right now.
He is not asked to carry crime. He is asked to contribute. To compete. And perhaps reminds the Cubs of what they saw when they called his name on the day of draft.
The backback starts on the road
Apparently, the return of the show doesn’t begin far from home, not under the light of Wrigley, in the echoes of the dugouts of visitors to Miami and Cincinnati.
This road trip is more than just a Cubs game. It’s the hinge point of the early season. And that’s where the show begins again.
For a 23-year-old, this is the dual nature of work. But the show deals with both with the kind of professionalism that resonates beyond numbers.
When he was sent he was not bitter. He went to work. He asked. He has changed.
Matt Shaw has arrived in Miami pic.twitter.com/cysahu3jrg
– Marquee Sports Network (@watchmarquee) May 19, 2025
Now he returns not as a savior, but as a spark. And when it’s quiet during the innings, now with a swing with less lift but more purpose, the Cubs want to find out what they lack.
Maybe that’s not how the season begins.
Maybe it’s about how it resets.
