Cubs take local star Ed Howard with 1st-round draft pick

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs selected hometown shortstop Ed Howard in the first round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft on Wednesday night.

The 18-year-old Howard was a prep star at Mount Carmel High School on Chicago's South Side. He also started for the 2014 Jackie Robinson West Little League team that advanced to the finals of the Little League World Series.

“As far as what stands out to us on the field, he's got an electric skill set,” said Dan Kantrovitz, vice president of scouting for the Cubs. “He's a plus shortstop. He's got pop in his bat. He can run. He can impact a game in so many ways and we think he's got a chance to be a star.”

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Howard went No. 16 overall, becoming the first Illinois high school position player to go in the first round since Jayson Werth in 1997. Howard has committed to the University of Oklahoma.

Howard hit .421 (48 for 114) with three homers in 35 games during his junior year with Mount Carmel. His senior season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kantrovitz, who joined the Cubs' front office in December, flew from California to Chicago in January to watch Howard work out at Wrigley Field and meet with the infielder and his parents.

Kantrovitz also was part of a Zoom call with Howard in the spring. Howard wore his baseball mitt during the meeting.

“It wasn't something that I think he expected us to notice or even see,” Kantrovitz said. “You could only see it for just a couple seconds there. ... The moment that we realized he was wearing his glove and was just champing at the bit to get on the field and take ground balls and play, we knew that he had the intangibles that we were looking for.”

The selection of Howard, one of the top black prospects in the draft, comes...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Cubs-take-local-star-Ed-Howard-with-first-round-15331606.php