"When we talk about young players, we want work ethic, drive and overall passion for the game," Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrowitz said. "On our Zoom call interview with him this spring, I noticed something on his hand. It turned out to be a baseball glove. Think about it -- we were interviewing him and he's literally wearing his baseball mitt. At that moment, I realized we knew he had the intangibles we look for."
Howard will now bring his tantalizing tools and his intangibles to the Cubs, who selected him at No. 16 overall in the MLB amateur draft Wednesday evening. They did so after the 18-year-old Howard's senior season at Mt. Carmel was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite Howard not playing this spring, the Cubs had already seen plenty to be drawn to his potential. Kantrovitz called Howard being available "literally our best-case scenario."
"He has an electric skill set," Kantrovitz said. "He is a plus shortstop, pop in his bat and he can run. He can impact a game in so many ways. We think he has a chance to be a star."
Howard joins a Cubs organization that currently has a star shortstop in Javier Baez, who's set to hit free agency after 2021, and another promising middle infielder in Nico Hoerner. That means Howard will have plenty of time to develop and mature in the minor leagues. The Cubs fully expect Howard to remain a shortstop despite him having the physical tools and athleticism to play almost anywhere on the field.
"Every pick after the ninth and 10th pick, we were taking deep breaths hoping he would get to us," Kantrovitz said. "We feel he will play shortstop in the big leagues. But if we didn't think there was a chance for Ed to become an impact player in the major leagues, we wouldn't have taken him. We project him as a plus shortstop, and those guys are hard to come by. Ed Howard is a shortstop, and that is where we see him."
Howard was thrilled to be selected be a hometown team, even after he developed a close relationship with White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson. Howard noted he didn't agree with the White Sox's decision to pass on him at No. 11, but he doesn't harbor any ill will about it.
"I am looking forward to playing for the Cubs," Howard said. "They are a great organization. I watched a lot of their games growing up and becoming a hometown guy (drafted) is special."
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Howard hit .421 with 11 doubles, four triples and three homers in 35 games as a junior at Mount Carmel in 2019. What lies ahead for him in 2020 is unclear, as the minor league season will be officially canceled at some point soon. MLB is hoping to have an extended Arizona Fall League in November and December if there isn't a bad outbreak of the coronavirus in a second wave.
Howard was aware of those comments from Epstein.
"I agree with what he is saying," Howard said. "There are not many of us in the league now, but I believe there is a lot more coming. I feel what he is saying. There are a lot of crazy things going on in the world. I think we must come together as people. We are all the same. I believe everybody should love each other. Baseball should be more diverse. There are a lot of African-Americans that can play."