Cubs Potential Breakout Star Has 20/20 Upside in Rookie Season

Will the talented rookie on the Chicago Cubs have a breakout season?

Nick Ziegler | Mar 22, 2025

Mar 19, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, JPN; Chicago Cubs second baseman Matt Shaw (6) rounds third base in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the Tokyo Series at Tokyo Dome. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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Chicago Cubs

With the regular season underway after a short two-game series in Japan against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs are looking to have a great year.

While things didn’t start out as the Cubs would have liked, the team still has high hopes.

This winter, Chicago made a lot of upgrades on their team in multiple areas, so they are a much better team on paper compared to last campaign.

The additions of Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly were the most notable ones, with both players coming from a championship contender in the Houston Astros.

Tucker will provide the Cubs with the star they have been seeking in the middle of their lineup and Pressly will be taking over as the closer.

These were both areas that Chicago wanted to upgrade, and they did so in a major way. However, there was another past member of the Astros the team was going after, and that was Alex Bregman.

The talented third baseman would have filled a void at third base for the team in free agency, but they ultimately missed out. However, while third base was an area they seemingly wanted to upgrade, the team still had a great in-house option.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) recently spoke about Cubs rookie Matt Shaw as a player poised to breakout in 2025.

“He profiles as a 20-home run, 30-stolen base talent with the ability to get on base at a high rate.”

There is a lot to like about the top prospect for Chicago, and he has certainly deserved the opportunity to be the starter this year.

In 2024, while playing in the minors, he slashed 284 /.379/.488 with 21 home runs, 71 RBI, and 31 stolen bases.

The ability to both hit home runs and steal bases is one of the main reasons why he is considered to be the best prospect for the Cubs.

Having the potential to be a 20/20 player as a rookie will put him square in the conversation to be the National League Rookie of the Year.

For Chicago, even though they are in a win-now mode and missed out on a player the caliber of Bregman, having one of the best prospects in baseball as a backup plan isn’t a bad spot to be in.

As a rookie, the young slugger will surely have some ups and downs, but overall he has the upside to become a star in his first season of Major League Baseball.

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