Edward Vernell Howard IV (born January 28, 2002) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

in the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

organization. Howard was selected 16th overall by the

in the

2020 Major League Baseball draft The 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season ...

Amateur career

Howard grew up in

Lynwood, Illinois Lynwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States and a suburb of Chicago. The population was 9,116 at the 2020 census. Lynwood was founded in 1959. The village is bordered by Lansing to the north, Glenwood to the west, Ford Heights a ...

, and was a member of the Jackie Robinson West Little League team that competed in the

2014 Little League World Series The 2014 Little League World Series, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, started on August 14 and ended on August 24, 2014. Eight teams from the United States, and eight from the rest of the world, competed in the 68th edition of the tourname ...

championship game. He attended Mount Carmel High School in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he was a shortstop on the baseball team and played basketball before giving up the sport to focus on baseball. He was named first team All-

Chicago Catholic League The Chicago Catholic League (CCL) is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. All of the schools are part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports. While some o ...

(CCL) as a sophomore after batting .380. 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 The Chicago Southland is a region comprising the south and southwest suburbs of the City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. Home to roughly 2.5 million residents, this region has been known as the Southland by the local populace and regio ...

and first team Class 4A All-State. 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. Howard entered his senior year as a top prospect for the

. As a high school sophomore, Howard committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, and signed with the

Sooners Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbying campaign, ...

early in his senior year.

Professional career

Howard was selected by the

with the 16th overall selection in the

. Howard signed with the Cubs for a $3.745 million bonus. Howard made his professional debut in 2021 with the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

of the

Low-A East The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. Over eighty games, he slashed .225/.277/.315 with four home runs, 31 RBIs, and seven stolen bases. He missed over a month during the season due to a hamstring injury. Howard opened the 2022 season with the

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team was or ...

of the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. He suffered a season-ending hip injury in May. Howard batted .244 with one home run, 11 RBIs and three stolen bases in 23 games.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Ed 2002 births Living people Baseball players from Illinois Baseball shortstops People from Lynwood, Illinois Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area Myrtle Beach Pelicans players South Bend Cubs players