Matt Shaw Just Became Cubs’ First 3B to Homer This Season

Matt Shaw hit his second MLB home run of the year during the Cubs’ five-dinger barrage in Detroit on Saturday, crushing a 107.6 mph liner out to left. It was Shaw’s first round-tripper since being called back up, and he’s now batting .258 with a 106 wRC+ on the season. Not including his recent performance, Shaw was slashing .345/.387/.466 with seven doubles, seven steals, and a 144 wRC+ in 62 plate appearances over his second stint in the bigs.

The adjustments he made in Iowa have allowed him to take over as the everyday third baseman the Cubs have been seeking for quite a while now. To wit, his homer was also the first by a starting Cubs third baseman this season. That first tank back on March 29 came as a pinch hitter, after which he remained in the game at third, though even that was more than all other Cubs third basemen have hit.

Between Jon Berti (60 PAs), Nicky Lopez (19), Gage Workman (13), Vidal Bruján (13), and Justin Turner (5), no other players have hit a home run while playing the hot corner for the Cubs in 2025. Turner is the only member of that group to have a homer AT ALL this season, and that came when he was playing first base. The Cubs just got back to 0.0 fWAR at the position with Shaw’s resurgence, but they’re still worse than all but five teams.

Until Shaw’s blast on Saturday, they were the only team in baseball with a homer from a position traditionally known for power. That’s kind of a thing across the NL Central, where the Cardinals (8) have gotten the most dingers from third. The Reds (4) are next, while the Brewers and Pirates (2 each) are just barely ahead of the Cubs. With Shaw continuing to look more confident in the box, it’s just a matter of time before he adjusts the stats a bit.