Cubs promoting 2023 1st-round pick to Double-A Tennessee
Matt Shaw’s talents and work ethic always impressed the Cubs when they took him with the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft.
That skillset led the Cubs to promote the infielder to Double-A Tennessee, just a month after he was drafted.
In just 20 games at South Bend, Shaw showed he wasn’t being challenged. The right-handed hitter slashed .393/.427/.655/197 wRC+ with 4 home runs, 18 RBI and 7 stolen bases.
“I think when we think through promotions, we wanna make sure players are challenged, pushed close to the edge of their abilities,” Cubs VP of player development Jared Banner said. “With Matt’s performance here, his first 20 games in High-A it seemed like he was ready for a new challenge. So, we didn’t want to be too conservative there. We decided to send him on up.”
The Southern League in Double-A skews more towards a pitcher-friendly league — the league has experimented with a tackier ball this year to the benefit of pitchers. Couple that with the natural increase in talent, should face some stiffer trials there. But, as he’s shown since joining the organization, the Cubs believe he can perform at that level, too.
“We knew he was a pretty impressive athlete, a really good hitter and he has proven to be so thus far,” Banner said. “Two things that jump out to me are barrel control. He finds the barrel a lot and then hits the ball really hard. It’s a good combination.”
Shaw will join 2022 1st-round pick Cade Horton, 2020 2nd-round pick Jordan Nwogu and top prospects Owen Caissie and BJ Murray Jr with the Smokies.
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