Dansby Swanson was once in the shoes of Matt Shaw.

The Chicago Cubs shortstop was a 1st-round pick, a top prospect and a player with plenty of expectations on his shoulders when it was time to make his big-league debut. Shaw was the Cubs’ 2023 1st-round pick, currently is their top prospect and is expected to be the team’s Opening Day third baseman when the season begins against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

The best guidance Swanson can offer the young rookie could be the worst, too, though.

“Because it’s basically you got to figure out what works for you,” Swanson told reporters in a press conference after the Cubs’ 4-2 win over the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday.

[Cubs takeaways: What we learned in 4-2 win vs. Yomiuri Giants in Japan]

Make no mistake, Swanson will be around and offer guidance to the 23-year-old infielder when he can, but a lot of the learning curve that comes with breaking into the big leagues comes on your own. The successes and challenges Shaw will face won’t be the same as what Swanson faced when he broke through in the majors.

“I think that the more that you play, the more that you get experience – the only way to get experience is by playing and so it’s going to be on him to figure those things out,” Swanson said.

Shaw’s mindset and preparation, at least early on, suggest he could be on the right pace. That’s translated to results early on this spring. After starting spring training on the sidelines with oblique soreness, Shaw rehabbed, returned and cracked the team’s 31-man travel roster that headed to Japan for the 2025 Tokyo Series.

Before boarding the jet to Tokyo, Shaw hit .313 in six Cactus League contests in Arizona. On Sunday, in the final exhibition game before the regular season, Shaw delivered a two-run, two-out, bases-loaded base hit that proved to be the difference in the Cubs’ win over one of the premier franchises from Japan.

“His preparation is good,” Swanson said. “He’s obviously a really good player. He’s really talented, emotionally and mentally. He’s in a really good place.”

That leads him to believe Shaw could be on the precipice of a solid big-league career. After all, he’s been through it before and has turned in a solid career so far himself.

“He’s got a long career ahead of him,” Swanson said. “There’s going to be ups and downs, and it’s just a matter of who can show up each and every day ready to win games. And I think that he’s got that in him. That’s what I would say, is he’s gonna just consistently need to figure out what works for him.”