The Chicago Cubs ended up going with a hometown product in the first round of the MLB Draft, selecting shortstop Ed Howard out of Chicago’s Mount Carmel High School.
Howard, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 185 pounds, posted a .419 batting average and drove in 29 RBI’s in his junior season at the school. He also had 18 total extra base hits that season, with 12 doubles and three home runs.
Scouting reports laud Howard for his slick fielding skills, with the Cubs once again targeting a strong shortstop prospect with a high draft pick. His hitting is a work in progress, as the Cubs will likely ask him to gain some strength to boost his power numbers, and scouts have also said that he has the potential to be a solid hitter for average, but will need to make adjustments as he steps up to the pro level.
Howard should be a familiar name to Chicago baseball fans, as he was a member of the Jackie Robinson West squad that went to the Little League World Series championship game in 2014.
“I want to go down as one of the best shortstops to ever play,” Howard told NBC 5 back in May. “I want to be a great player on the field, and I also want to go down in history as a great person off the field.”
Howard won Gatorade’s Illinois Baseball Player of the Year award last year. He is committed to play college baseball at Oklahoma.
