The Chicago Cubs are looking for any sort of spark that can get them out of the rut they entered in during the last stages of May that pushed them outside of a playoff spot.
Once battling with the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central lead, they are now 7.5 games out of first place and a half-game back from the third Wild Card spot.
This offseason, the Cubs' ownership group and front office made it clear they wanted to have a roster that could contend for a spot in the playoffs, but their actions didn't quite live up to those words after they aggressively hired Craig Counsell to be their manager.
Cody Bellinger was eventually brought back, but there was still some thought that there could have been more improvements made during the winter to ensure this team had the best chance of competing as possible.
One area that they wanted to upgrade was third base.
With Christopher Morel not quite looking like he could handle defensive responsibilities full-time, they were seen as a possible landing spot for elite defender and solid batter Matt Chapman.
Ultimately, Chicago didn't go down that route and decided to give Morel another look with a platoon system in place.
What has been bubbling below the surface, however, is that their star prospect Matt Shaw might be called upon at some point this season to take over third base despite only being at the Double-A level.
The 22-year-old former first round pick is ranked as their No. 3 prospect and is seen as a future star.
Well, it seems like his promotion to Triple-A could be on the horizon after he has started to dominate the competition at his current affiliate level, meaning he would only be one step away from the Majors.
"Matt Shaw – arguably the Cubs new top prospect – is on an absolute tear as one of the youngest players in Double-A, slashing .310/.408/.571 (195 wRC+) since May 21. He’s likely due for a bump to Triple-A sometime soon," writes Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation.
His ascent would be extremely rapid as Shaw only played 38 games in 2023 starting in rookie ball before ending with the their Double-A team.
Chicago is no stranger to promoting their top prospects quickly if they think they are able to handle the level of pitching they'll face in the bigs, but right now, the expectation is that he won't make his debut until some time in 2025.
However, if the Cubs continue to struggle, they could look to the youngster to deliver the spark they are desperately searching for as they try to recover from a poor stretch that has them outside of the playoff picture.
