Inside The Cubs

Chicago Cubs Star Prospect Among Top NL Rookie of the Year Candidates

The Chicago Cubs' top prospect is among the top players expected to compete for the NL Rookie of the Year in 2025.

Dylan Sanders

Mar 5, 2024; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw (77) bats against the Kansas City Royals during the second inning at Surprise Stadium.
Mar 5, 2024; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw (77) bats against the Kansas City Royals during the second inning at Surprise Stadium. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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The Chicago Cubs had a player finish in the top four of NL Rookie of the Year voting this past season and are expected to have another candidate next year.

On a recent episode of the "MLB Pipeline Podcast", hosts Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis laid out their top three picks for the award for next season.

While the two didn't agree on where he was at on the rankings, both hosts had Cubs top prospect Matt Shaw in the conversation.

Callis gave him the second-best odds and Mayo was right behind at third.

Shaw is currently the MLB's No. 22 overall prospect, but has the bat to rise above even those high expectations.

He was the No. 13 overall selection in the 2023 draft after a great career with the Maryland Terrapins. While there were high hopes for his power-speed combo, few expected him to adjust to professional ball so quickly.

The 23-year-old dominated both Double and Triple-A last season. He posted a .284/.379/.488 slash line with 21 home runs and 31 stolen bases.

Transferring a stat line similar to that would give him a great chance to come away with the Rookie of the Year award at the end of the season.

Him becoming a 20/30 threat while also being an at least average glove manning the hot corner would be a perfect outcome for Chicago.

Cubs ace Shota Imanaga came close to winning the award, even being the favorite for a stint at the beginning of the year, but Paul Skenes ran away with that honor fairly quickly.

There have been two Chicago rookies to take win it in the 21st century, with the latest being Kris Bryant in 2015.

Bryant's rookie season saw him post a .275/.369/.488 slash line with 26 home runs and 99 RBI. He also stole 13 bases. He won an MVP a year later.

Shaw will have some serious competition to win the award this season.

The consensus top candidate was Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews. Philadelphia Phillies righty Andrew Painter and another Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher in Bubba Chandler were also named to the list.

Crews is the top prospect in all of baseball, so it would make sense that he is the favorite to be the best rookie.

Painter has only made six appearances since the 2022 campaign, but looked great doing so. He has had a wonderful start to his professional career, when healthy.

Chandler has the stuff to be an ace and will be able to play out his rookie campaign without much stress, as the Pirates have a couple other great pitchers ahead of him in the rotation.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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