Shaw frees ‘caged animal’ for 1st big league blast

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHOENIX -- Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly is still learning how rookie Matt Shaw works and what makes the young infielder tick both behind the scenes and in the batter’s box. Kelly noticed something when comparing what he was seeing in front of him this spring to the many at-bats he watched on video from the last two Minor League seasons.

Near the end of Spring Training, Kelly brought it up in a conversation with Shaw in the cage.

“I was just like, ‘Listen, I haven’t seen you play a ton,’” Kelly said. “‘But when I watch you step into the box in all those videos the last two years, there’s a presence. There’s like a caged animal in there that’s looking for the pitch that you want and looking to drive it. And you’re intentful with what you’re trying to do.’”

In Saturday’s 4-3 win, the 23-year-old Shaw was given the day off from starting, but Cubs manager Craig Counsell called on him in a pinch-hit opportunity against D-backs lefty Jalen Beeks in the seventh inning. Prior to the game, Kelly again discussed the “intent” he wanted to see Shaw take into his at-bats.

Shaw unleashed that “caged animal” Kelly referenced and the result was the first home run of the rookie’s Major League career. Beeks fired a first-pitch fastball at 95.1 mph (per Statcast) to the upper edge of the strike zone. Fresh off the bench, Shaw attacked the pitch and launched it to the first row beyond the left-field wall to give Chicago a 4-1 lead.

“It was an amazing moment,” said Shaw, MLB Pipeline’s top Cubs prospect and No. 19 on the Top 100. “It makes the moment even cooler that we ended up needing that run at the end of the game. It was just a great game overall. Coming in later in the game is unique, but it was really cool.”

After the win, Counsell praised the aggressiveness and intent that Shaw displayed in that moment. The manager added on Sunday morning that going “back to who you are” in the Major Leagues is important for a young player like Shaw.

“Matt’s an aggressive hitter,” Counsell said. “That’s what he’s always been, and that’s what’s going to serve him well no matter what pitcher he’s facing.”

Shaw hit .341 with a 1.142 OPS for Maryland in 2023, when the Cubs took him with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the Draft. He then hit .357 with a 1.018 OPS in his first pro season, soaring to Double-A Knoxville by the end of the summer. In ‘24, Shaw kept his foot on the gas, reaching Triple-A Iowa and setting him up to win the third-base vacancy this spring.

“My balance has been a little bit on the side of passive the first four games,” Shaw said. “Just kind of getting a feel for the big leagues and everything in the environment. But going into that game, my mindset was, ‘I need to step up, be a little more aggressive,’ and kind of take that aggressiveness that I’ve always had into my day to day.

“It showed in that at-bat, and I think it’s something that I’m going to continue to build off, for sure.”