A leadoff AND a walk-off homer? Cubs top prospect Shaw sizzles at Triple-A

Wrigley Field sat dormant on Thursday, a windy day whipping across the diamond, the calm before a crosstown Chicago weekend set. But over in Des Moines, Iowa, it was a raucous day, due in large part to the bat of Matt Shaw.

Mr. Cub himself, Ernie Banks, once decreed it a great day to play two and such was the case for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate on Thursday. After winning the first contest, 8-2, the real fireworks were saved for the 8-7 victory in the second game in the doubleheader sweep at Principal Park.

The Cubs’ top prospect homered for the second time in three days leading off the bottom of the first inning against St. Paul, sizzling a high fastball off right-hander Darren McCaughan (Twins) to the opposite field.

From there, the Saints took command of the contest until the final innings. After Chase Strumpf homered off lefty reliever Brady Feigl to tie the game in the eighth, Shaw kept the pedal to the metal and drilled the next offering over the wall in right-center for a walk-off roundtripper.

“You have a lot of days that you’re just grinding through and putting together good at-bats,” Shaw said postgame. “So it's really nice to have one of those days where everything kind of falls into place and you get a couple of home runs and you have a good day. Obviously, really exciting and I’m really happy about it.”

If hitting both a leadoff and a walk-off homer in the same game sounds rare, that’s because it is. It’s been done just five times at the Major League level dating back to 1957, most recently accomplished by the D-backs’ Chris Young on Aug. 7, 2010, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. (The four previous ones were: Ian Kinsler, Rangers, July 19, 2009; Reed Johnson, Blue Jays, June 15, 2003; Darin Erstad, Angels, June 25, 2000; Vic Power, A’s, May 7, 1957.)

Minor League production, in many ways, has never been the issue with Shaw. Across 181 games at four levels, MLB's No. 18 prospect has slashed .301/.387/.521 with 205 hits, 75 of which have gone for extra bases.

But exactly one year ago to the day, the Cubs’ first-round selection in the 2023 Draft was getting his first dose of the upper Minors. And it was bitter.

It’s often said the biggest jump in competition on the Minor League ladder is from High-A to Double-A, and Shaw experienced that firsthand with a .216 average and .351 slugging percentage through 33 games with the Double-A Smokies that concluded May 15, 2024.

But when that light flicks on for top prospects, it can shine very brightly. Shaw delivered a .901 OPS in June and 1.061 in July, meriting his first bump to Triple-A. From there, his rocket stretch took him all the way to Tokyo as part of Chicago’s 2025 Opening Day roster.

• 'I'll remember everything': Shaw makes much-anticipated debut in Tokyo

When the Cubs optioned Shaw to Triple-A on April 15, it was with the intention of getting his swing "where it needs to be" in order for him to be the impact bat they expected him to be when he claimed the Opening Day roster spot.

Since returning to the I-Cubs, Shaw has shown many of the same traits that earned him that bump to The Show. He has walked (15) more than he has struck out (10), all while delivering extra-base pop (10 of his 23 hits). In the past two weeks alone, he has produced a .907 OPS and is enjoying a torrid stretch with 22 total bases across the last six games he has started.

The multihomer heroics mark Shaw’s fourth such game as a pro, having previously done it twice for Double-A Tennessee (now Knoxville) in 2024 and once for High-A South Bend in ‘23.