Matt Shaw quietly tweaked his stance, and is now silencing his doubters

The prodigal son returned on Monday for the Chicago Cubs, as third baseman Matt Shaw was recalled after a brief recharge in Triple-A. In just a three-game stretch, Shaw showcased the adjustments he made with the Iowa Cubs and demonstrated his potential to be a viable option at third base for the future.

Armed with a shortened leg kick, Shaw feasted on the Miami Marlins' pitching staff, going 5-11 at the plate, also drawing a walk to give him an on-base clip of .500 for the series. Shaw’s shortened leg kick has allowed him to adjust his timing, giving him more consistency in his at-bats.

“I think it was just something that we had been talking about, me and [Craig Counsell] and our hitting coaches there and here,” Shaw said about the leg kick on Monday. “It was just one of those things where they’ve seen enough baseball to know I can be a little more consistent with a little smaller leg kick, and I think they’re right.”

Matt Shaw's turnaround is credited to the Cubs' coaching staff

Another noticeable component in his game has been the extra-base hits. After recording just two extra-base hits in his first 18 games, Shaw put forward three of them in three games, all three of them with exit velocities above 90 MPH.

In his first spell with the team, Shaw struggled to hit to the opposite field, a weakness pitcher quickly exploited by throwing a barrage of outside pitches. Now, Shaw’s adjustments seem to have improved that, with all three of his extra-base hits coming on pitches in the lower bottom third of the plate, and all three hit out to right field as a result.

However, the adjustment that seemed to help Shaw the most was the ability to take a moment and reflect, something he struggled to do in the opening weeks of the season. 

“I think overall just taking a step back and being able to take a breath was really nice,” Shaw said. “The first month of the season or so was pretty overwhelming with Japan and everything going on. It’s definitely nice to take a breath back in Triple A and get a couple of things moving in the right direction and then be back.”

Being entrusted with third base for a historic franchise as a rookie would be overwhelming for anyone, let alone starting the season in Tokyo against one of the best teams in baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Whatever changes he made seem to have paid off for the 23-year-old, which the Cubs will clearly welcome given the team’s struggles at the hot corner. Given the rest of the team’s success at the plate in the season’s early stages, there is less pressure for Shaw to be “that guy” right away, allowing him time to settle into the role more comfortably.