Matt Shaw Might Turn Out to Be a Super Sub, After All

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Coming into this season, the weakness of the Cubs' bench was a glaring problem. Little was expected of Michael Conforto or Dylan Carlson, but with Seiya Suzuki starting the year on the injured list, the team was compelled to hope for at least some amount of help from each. Because Craig Counsell didn't trust Carlson, he instead moved Matt Shaw into an outfield role, which forced the team to carry Scott Kingery for the first few weeks of the campaign. Of Shaw himself, no one knew quite what to expect. His rookie season was so uneven and so pockmarked by big changes in mechanics and approach that projecting his offense was difficult, and he had lost his regular defensive home when the team signed Alex Bregman.

Kingery and Carlson are gone, now, but the former has been replaced with Nicky Lopez, who's just Scott Kingery in a mirror. He, too, is a glove-over-bat utility infielder whose glove is merely good, not great. He, too, is a quasi-local product. He just happens to bat left-handed. Suzuki is back and has taken nicely to a restored home in right field, while rookie Moisés Ballesteros has been terrific as the DH. That's slightly reduced the role of Shaw and significantly reduced what the team is asking of Conforto, which is for the best.

However, Counsell has tried hard to keep finding regular playing time for Shaw, and the sophomore is rewarding his manager's proactive show of faith. He's ironed out some of his early wrinkles in the outfield, still taking shaky routes but making most of the plays asked of him thanks to good jumps and his above-average speed. Lately, he's also been called upon more often on the dirt. Nagging injuries for Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson have prompted Counsell to slot Shaw in at third and second base, where he's much more comfortable.

In Wednesday's final game of a road trip to face the Dodgers and Padres, Shaw started at second, with Nico Hoerner moving to shortstop to fill in for Swanson. He and Conforto were the catalysts of a key victory, as they continue to play better than was expected. Shaw collected three hits against the Padres; Conforto had a double and scored twice, including the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth.

Shaw is the big story, though. He, too, had a double, his sixth of the year. Then, in the top of the eighth, he got just enough of a Jason Adam fastball that caught just too much of the upper third of the zone. Often, when a player hits a high heater a long way, we say they got on top of the ball. That couldn't have been less true in Shaw's case: he clipped the ball with a 41° launch angle, arcing high down the left-field line. Because he caught it flush enough to hit it 101.2 miles per hour, though, it carried just beyond the reach of Padres left fielder Nick Castellanos and into the stands for a homer.

In that swing, one can glimpse a lot of what this season has been for Shaw. He got a good pitch to hit and made solid contact. He's still somewhat constrained by below-average bat speed, which has gotten even worse this year, and all three of his homers on the young season have been hit down the lines and just barely gotten out. Yet, he's increased the loft in his swing and his approach, which has given him slightly more consistency in adjusting to and producing against tough pitchers.

Last season, we never saw a version of Shaw who could both collect hits to the center of the diamond and the opposite way and turn around mistakes for power. The combination of his mechanics, his pitch selection and and his timing never permitted that. This season, he's increased the tilt in his swing and is working to catch the ball out front more when he's able to anticipate the pitch type. That combination has made him a more complete hitter.

Shaw still has much to work on, and he's gotten pretty lucky en route to his nice-looking numbers so far. However, he's made genuine improvements, too. If he can even settle in at the levels suggested by his preseason projections and his expected stats for this year (something like .270/.335/.400), the Cubs will gladly take it. On Wednesday, the emergence of that version of Shaw made the telling difference in what ended up a one-run win.

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[CubUgly]

5 minutes ago, Matthew Trueblood said:

Image courtesy of © Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Coming into this season, the weakness of the Cubs' bench was a glaring problem. Little was expected of Michael Conforto or Dylan Carlson, but with Seiya Suzuki starting the year on the injured list, the team was compelled to hope for at least some amount of help from each. Because Craig Counsell didn't trust Carlson, he instead moved Matt Shaw into an outfield role, which forced the team to carry Scott Kingery for the first few weeks of the campaign. Of Shaw himself, no one knew quite what to expect. His rookie season was so uneven and so pockmarked by big changes in mechanics and approach that projecting his offense was difficult, and he had lost his regular defensive home when the team signed Alex Bregman.

Kingery and Carlson are gone, now, but the former has been replaced with Nicky Lopez, who's just Scott Kingery in a mirror. He, too, is a glove-over-bat utility infielder whose glove is merely good, not great. He, too, is a quasi-local product. He just happens to bat left-handed. Suzuki is back and has taken nicely to a restored home in right field, while rookie Moisés Ballesteros has been terrific as the DH. That's slightly reduced the role of Shaw and significantly reduced what the team is asking of Conforto, which is for the best.

However, Counsell has tried hard to keep finding regular playing time for Shaw, and the sophomore is rewarding his manager's proactive show of faith. He's ironed out some of his early wrinkles in the outfield, still taking shaky routes but making most of the plays asked of him thanks to good jumps and his above-average speed. Lately, he's also been called upon more often on the dirt. Nagging injuries for Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson have prompted Counsell to slot Shaw in at third and second base, where he's much more comfortable.

In Wednesday's final game of a road trip to face the Dodgers and Padres, Shaw started at second, with Nico Hoerner moving to shortstop to fill in for Swanson. He and Conforto were the catalysts of a key victory, as they continue to play better than was expected. Shaw collected three hits against the Padres; Conforto had a double and scored twice, including the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth.

Shaw is the big story, though. He, too, had a double, his sixth of the year. Then, in the top of the eighth, he got just enough of a Jason Adam fastball that caught just too much of the upper third of the zone. Often, when a player hits a high heater a long way, we say they got on top of the ball. That couldn't have been less true in Shaw's case: he clipped the ball with a 41° launch angle, arcing high down the left-field line. Because he caught it flush enough to hit it 101.2 miles per hour, though, it carried just beyond the reach of Padres left fielder Nick Castellanos and into the stands for a homer.

 

 

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Honestly, with how quickly he adjusted and actually thrived at third I had little doubt he could adjust at other positions defensively.  The question was given the unevenness of his year offense last year could he be consistent hitter.

The jury is still out, but I think he can be.