At the heart of baseball is a game of patience and timing. For Matt Shaw, the wait lasted less than two months, but the journey felt longer. Chicago's top post prospect is to return to the major leagues, called by the Cubs, and is still looking for consistency at third bases and sparking in the center of the pennant game. The first Grand Slam taste of Xiao is painful. His second one? The bear thought it might be different. Because this time, the swing is simpler. Perhaps easier to manage. Faith – Still active.
Report: Cubs' prospect Matt Shaw is known as @Jonheyman. pic.twitter.com/xm0z4aqsc4
– Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 19, 2025
Change from setback to swing: Xiao's second chance
In mid-April, this number tells a difficult fact. A home run. Three RBIs. 18 strikeouts in 58 sets. For Matt Shaw, the early returns of his major league debut were not only incredible, but unfamiliar. Through such a natural game in college, minors suddenly become mirrors of adjustment.
Xiao was sent back to Sanchong Iowa. Don't disappear, but rebuild.
The focus is mechanical. The kicks were shortened. Intent, simplification. Then the swing starts to match the promise. In Iowa, Shaw hit the .286 with six home runs and a .950 action in 24 games. More importantly, the ball once again purposefully pops up from the bat – driving to all areas and landing with authority and defense that cannot be achieved.
Matt Shaw has 5 hours in the last 35 pa in Iowa. Has his swing changed since he was dismissed?
Not much – the swing mechanism looks similar (left: yesterday, right: with cubs).
But one subtle difference: his posture now seems to be more upright. It might be a tweak to help you feel… pic.twitter.com/9xh9fqvrkn
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) May 17, 2025
“He’s a little passive,” said the Bears hit coach Dustin Kelly. “Now he’s driving baseball again.”
Baseball offers no guarantee, just chance. For Xiao, the second person has fewer expectations, but perhaps a strong sense of self.
Where to struggle for the roster
If Matt Shaw's Bats could fit that belief, the Cubs could end up finding the answers in the only place where the question arises.
The third base is a blank. No home run. A .184 average. In the worst action in baseball. Chicago relies on Jon Berti and Nicky Lopez, whose gloves offer solid performance, but the bat doesn't offer much else.
The team leads in the central national league. In a department where every game can be important, they need to produce, not just stabilize. Xiao brought this possibility. He also brought energy. confidence. The quiet urgency of a player who knows what it means to be sent down and restore the same path.
Lopez is said to have not traveled to Miami with the team. He is expected to be traded or designated as an allocation. This is a difficult time for veterans. However, baseball is usually a game of timing, and after adjusting for a month, the timing of the timing feels good.
He will not be asked to attack. He will be asked to contribute. compete. Maybe, remind the Bear what he saw when calling his name on draft day.
The road begins backwards
Suitable, Shaw's return does not start under the light of the Wrigley, but is far away from home – amid the echoes of tourists from Miami and Cincinnati.
This trip is more than just a Cubs game. This is an early hinge point. This is where Xiao starts again.
For a 23-year-old, it's the dual nature of the job: a famous prospect, the next downgraded student. But Shaw deals with that professionalism that resonates beyond the number of sensations.
He was not in pain when he was sent down. He went to work. He listened. He changed.
Matt Shaw arrives in Miami😎😎 pic.twitter.com/cysahu3jrg
– Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 19, 2025
Now, he is not as a Savior, but as a spark. In the quiet between situations, in the current swing, the lift is less, but more aim is, the bears want to find what they are missing.
Maybe it has nothing to do with the start of the season.
Maybe it's about how it resets.
