Matt Shaw

Matt Shaw

24-Year-Old Third Baseman3B
Chicago Cubs
2026 Fantasy Outlook
While there were definite growing pains during Shaw's rookie season in 2025, there were also plenty of flashes of promise. The young infielder started slowly and was batting just .172 at the end of April, which got him sent back down to Triple-A Iowa, but he was recalled in early May and batted .359 in the month. However, Shaw wouldn't bat above .240 in a month again the rest of the year, which highlighted his volatility as a player just getting his feet wet in the majors. When he did make contact, the 24-year-old displayed an encouraging mix of power and speed, and he finished with 13 home runs and 17 stolen bases. Shaw batted .284 with a .379 on-base percentage across two minor-league stops in 2024, and if he can carry more of that over to the MLB level in 2026, a big step forward is possible in his sophomore campaign. However, the Cubs' signing of Alex Bregman this offseason significantly alters Shaw's path to playing time. Chicago could look to get him reps in the outfield to use him as a potential utility player, but even in that role he'll likely have much smaller volume than previously expected. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#280
ADP
Signed a one-year contract with the Cubs in March of 2026.
Tallies three doubles Wednesday
3BChicago Cubs
April 15, 2026
Shaw went 3-for-4 with three doubles, two runs scored and three RBI in Wednesday's 11-2 win over the Phillies.
Analysis
Shaw got into a nice groove Wednesday as he delivered his first three-hit effort of the season and doubled his extra-base hit total. The 24-year-old also raised his batting average from .200 to .245 in the process. Shaw has seen his playing time trend down with Seiya Suzuki back from the injured list, though the former can still provide some fantasy value from a super-utility role due to his ability to hit for power and swipe a base.
Read More News
Batting Stats
Loading Batting Stats...
2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
2026 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2025 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Batting Game Log...
Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
3
4
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
4
2
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2024
 
 
+30%
OPS vs LHP
2026
 
 
+55%
OPS vs LHP
2025
 
 
+24%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
-100%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024vs Left .825 140 25 7 20 4 .264 .321 .504
Since 2024vs Right .633 363 40 8 33 14 .212 .279 .354
2026vs Left .910 27 6 1 6 1 .308 .333 .577
2026vs Right .588 30 1 1 3 0 .192 .241 .346
2025vs Left .808 110 18 6 14 3 .250 .318 .490
2025vs Right .649 327 39 7 30 14 .218 .287 .362
2024vs Left .667 3 1 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333
2024vs Right .000 6 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
More Splits View More Split Stats
Minor League Splits View Minor League Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2024
 
 
+29%
OPS on Road
2026
 
 
+122%
OPS on Road
2025
 
 
+16%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
-100%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024Home .596 235 29 6 21 10 .200 .272 .324
Since 2024Away .766 268 36 9 32 8 .250 .307 .459
2026Home .450 25 2 0 4 1 .208 .200 .250
2026Away .998 32 5 2 5 0 .286 .355 .643
2025Home .633 201 26 6 17 9 .203 .289 .345
2025Away .736 236 31 7 27 8 .245 .301 .435
2024Home .222 9 1 0 0 0 .111 .111 .111
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Matt Shaw compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.27
 
BB Rate
5.3%
 
K Rate
19.3%
 
BABIP
.275
 
ISO
.212
 
AVG
.250
 
OBP
.286
 
SLG
.462
 
OPS
.747
 
wOBA
.321
 
Exit Velocity
88.5 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
37.2%
 
Barrels/PA
5.3%
 
Expected BA
.293
 
Expected SLG
.429
 
Sprint Speed
26.6 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
38.1%
 
Line Drive %
23.8%
 
Fly Ball %
38.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
Loading Advanced Batting Stats...
Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
Loading Games Played by Position...
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Batted Ball Stats
Loading Batted Ball Stats...
Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Matt Shaw See More
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Matt Shaw See More
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2025
2024
Shaw's game was built for standard 5x5 fantasy, as he could be a 25-homer/25-steal infielder who hits for a high average during his prime years. A sturdy, athletic 5-foot-9 second baseman who has spent a signifiant amount of time at third base over the past year, Shaw figures to debut at the hot corner on Opening Day after Isaac Paredes was shipped to Houston as part of the return for Kyle Tucker. Shaw slashed .284/.379/.488 with 21 homers, 31 steals and strong hard-hit data (29.7 Hard%, 13.4 Soft%) in 121 games at Double-A and Triple-A, and his command of the zone didn't lessen after his promotion to Triple-A. If Shaw embraced pulling the ball more regularly (Oppo% over 40% at both stops) he could reach another level as a power hitter, but he already has a high floor and high ceiling in our game and is ready for primetime.
Shaw didn't face great competition while playing three years for Maryland, but he mashed with a wood bat (1.006 OPS) in the Cape Cod League in 2022 and excelled in his pro debut after the Cubs selected him with the 13th overall pick. He hit .500 with one home run in three Arizona Complex League games before a quick promotion to High-A. The 5-foot-11 infielder slashed .393/.427/.655 with four home runs, seven steals and 12 strikeouts in 20 games in the Midwest League before getting promoted again to Double-A. Shaw fared well again, hitting .292 with three home runs, six steals and a 17.1 K% in 15 games in the Southern League to close the year. He makes consistent contact and hits the ball to all fields. Shaw has a chance to hit 20-plus home runs while stealing 20-plus bases and hitting for a high average during his prime years. His defensive home is unclear, as he fits best at second base, but that's Nico Hoerner's spot. Neither Shaw or Hoerner have an ideal arm for the left side of the infield, which complicates matters. Nonetheless, Shaw's bat will likely look big-league ready by the middle of the summer.
More Fantasy News
Role trending down
3BChicago Cubs
April 12, 2026
Shaw will start at first base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Pirates.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Goes deep again Monday
3BChicago Cubs
April 6, 2026
Shaw went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 6-4 loss to the Rays.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Connects for first home run
3BChicago Cubs
April 5, 2026
Shaw went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in a 6-5 loss to the Guardians in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Tallies two hits, two RBI in win
3BChicago Cubs
April 1, 2026
Shaw went 2-for-4 with two RBI in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Angels.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Sits in favor of Conforto
3BChicago Cubs
March 30, 2026
Shaw is not in the lineup for Monday's contest against the Angels.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Candidate to be traded?
3BChicago Cubs
March 27, 2026
Shaw could be seen as a potential trade candidate after the Cubs extended Nico Hoerner, according to Chris Landers of FanSided.
Analysis
The Cubs have locked up Hoerner, Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson for at least four years each. That means Shaw will either convert to a full-time outfielder or try to move elsewhere, as he's not expected to be a utility player on a long-term basis. If that's the case, expect teams to call the Cubs about Shaw's availability. He could command a decent return if he ends up getting traded.
See All MLB Rumors