I doubt anyone had this on their bingo card, but infield prospect Ed Howard, who was taken in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of high school, has reportedly been promoted to Triple-A Iowa. Howard, 22, has been playing at Advanced A-Ball with the South Bend Cubs since the beginning of the 2022 season and after 102 games at that level in 2024, Howard is skipping Double-A.
According to Iowa Cubs beat reporter Tommy Birch, Howard is expected to make his Triple-A debut Tuesday night.
A big surprise for sure, especially when you consider that Howard has struggled to sustain consistent success at the plate at A+ Ball. The 22-year-old has posted a 74 wRC+ in 395 plate appearances at South Bend this season. The right-handed hitter recorded a slash line of .234/.289/.310, with a 28.1% strikeout rate.
Howard was picked 16th overall in 2020 by the Cubs. Unfortunately for the shortstop injuries have stunted his development since entering pro ball. He missed more than a month of action because of a hamstring injury in 2021, and then Howard suffered a devastating season-ending hip injury 23 games into his 2022 season that required surgery.
It’s been a slow path for Howard in the minor leagues, but maybe this move has more to do with the latest first round pick of the Cubs. Third baseman Cam Smith, who was the 14th overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft, has been promoted to Double-A this week. So, it’s possible that the Cubs skipped Howard up to Triple-A in order to guarantee Smith playing time at Double-A.
Regardless of the reasoning, you still want to root for Howard. There is still a ton of talent there with him and despite being in the Cubs system since 2020, Howard has only played in 250 minor league games. The injuries have obviously been a stinker for Howard, but you have to remember that he didn’t get to play his senior year in high school and at 22-years-old there’s still time for him to develop.
Other thoughts here. Are the Cubs going to call up Matt Shaw and that’s why Howard is headed to Triple-A? Is there an injury with the Iowa Cubs? Is Matt Shaw injured? Hopefully it’s not the latter.
