(670 The Score) Like everyone in his draft class, 20-year-old Cubs shortstop prospect Ed Howard’s baseball journey has been disjointed in recent years.
Howard missed his senior season of baseball at Mt. Carmel in Chicago when the pandemic hit in spring 2020, and he didn’t make his professional debut until the fall of that year after the Cubs selected him at No. 16 overall in the amateur draft that summer.
In 2021, Howard hit .225 with four homers, 31 RBIs, 33 runs, seven steals and a .592 OPS in 80 games at Class-A Myrtle Beach. The results were unsatisfying, but Howard has kept his focus.
“The key for me is to stay in the moment,” Howard said. “I just take it day by day and do what I do. That is what I learned.”
Nothing about Howard’s struggles in 2021 changed the way the Cubs view him, as they still see all the tools in him as when they drafted him and the right attitude.
“As a 19-year-old player, it just shows you how well he processes the challenges when he makes a statement like that to you,” Cubs director of hitting Justin Stone said. "He was put in a tough league after not playing any baseball since 2019 with the toughest pitching to face at that level in the minor leagues. We knew there would be ups and downs with that experience. Ed learned this year that of course the world has expectations, but he needed to push away from the thought he was letting people down. We know it's not just going to be a linear process. There are going to be ups and downs in the development. We know where it's going. He has a much clearer view of what he needs to do to be successful. We believe in him and his work ethic.”
Howard played a little bit of second base and third base in 2021, but the Cubs are keeping him at shortstop.
Howard is rated as the Cubs’ seventh-best prospects by MLB Pipeline. The Cubs have added other young shortstop talent to their minor league system since drafting Howard, including signing 18-year-old Cristian Hernandez on the international market in January. Hernandez is rated as the team’s third-best prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Such additions haven’t bothered Howard, who’s “doing a good job of discounting the outside noise,” as Stone said.
“That is a part of my challenge, to make me a better person and better player,” Howard said. “I can only control what I can control and go out there and play. I don't control the front office and what moves they make. I just watch and just keep a focus on my own game. Baseball is both a mental and physical challenge. The key again is staying in the moment and going day by day.
"I just want to stay with my approach and not get away from that. Last year, I certainly struggled at times. I also had some times where I had success.
I am just learning what methods work for me.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.