Opening Day is approaching for the Chicago Cubs a whole lot quicker than it is for the rest of the league. The Cubs will face the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for a two-game set in Japan on March 18 before returning back to the United States to finish off spring training for another week to prepare for domestic Opening Day on March 27 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Staging Opening Day in Japan speeds up some personnel decisions that can typically wait until the end of March.

This is incredibly exciting news for Cubs fans, first and foremost. Shaw, Chicago's first-round pick back in 2023 and the No. 19 prospect overall according to MLB Pipeline, is going to make his MLB debut against the defending World Series champions in Tokyo. Does it get more thrilling than that?