Ed Howard (baseball)
American baseball player (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edward Vernell Howard IV (born January 28, 2002) is an American professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. Howard was selected 16th overall by the Chicago Cubs in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
| Ed Howard | |
|---|---|
| Free agent | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: January 28, 2002 Evergreen Park, Illinois, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Stats at Baseball Reference |
Amateur career
Howard grew up in Lynwood, Illinois, and was a member of the Jackie Robinson West Little League team that competed in the 2014 Little League World Series championship game.[1] He attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, Illinois, where he was a shortstop on the baseball team and played basketball before giving up the sport to focus on baseball.[2] He was named first team All-Chicago Catholic League (CCL) as a sophomore after batting .380.[3] As a junior, he batted .419 with three home runs, 12 doubles and 29 RBIs and was named first team All-CCL, first team All-Chicago Southland and first team Class 4A All-State.[4][5] Howard played in the Under Armour All-American Game, the Perfect Game All-America Game and the inaugural MLB High School All-Star Game after his junior season.[6][7] Howard entered his senior year as a top prospect for the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[8][9][10][11] As a high school sophomore, Howard committed to play college baseball at the University of Oklahoma, and signed with the Sooners early in his senior year.[3][12][13]
Professional career
Howard was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the 16th overall selection in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[14] Howard signed with the Cubs for a $3.745 million bonus.[15] He did not appear for the organization due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]
Howard made his professional debut in 2021 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Low-A East.[17] Over eighty games, he slashed .225/.277/.315 with four home runs, 31 RBI, and seven stolen bases.[18] He missed over a month during the season due to a hamstring injury.[19] Howard opened the 2022 season with the South Bend Cubs of the High-A Midwest League.[20] He suffered a season-ending hip injury in May.[21] Howard batted .244 with one home run, 11 RBI and three stolen bases in 23 games.[22]
Howard's 2023 campaign was delayed as a result of the hip injury he suffered the previous year; in 45 games for South Bend, he batted .199/.239/.244 with two home runs, 14 RBI, and four stolen bases.[23] He split the 2024 season between South Bend and the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. In 112 appearances for the two affiliates, Howard slashed a cumulative .225/.281/.298 with two home runs, 27 RBI, and eight stolen bases.[24] He played only 21 games in 2025 due to injury. In 2026, he played 52 games between the Double-A Knoxville Smokies and Iowa, and hit .168 with two home runs. On August 29, 2026, Howard was released by the Cubs.[25]