Former White Sox Amateur City Elite Ed Howard goes to Cubs

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Former Chicago White Sox Amateur City Elite player, Ed Howard, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs. He is a Chicago boy that will start his career at home.

The Chicago White Sox drafted Garrett Crochet with the eleventh overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. It was a great selection as the comparisons to Chris Sale started to swirl in. White Sox fans should be excited about the pick and the way things are going for the organization. They are on the way up and they believe they will be a good team sooner than later.

With that said, it was devastating to see Ed Howard be drafted five picks later by the Chicago Cubs. Howard might not be exactly what the White Sox needed to draft right now over pitching but seeing him go to the North Side is not fun. Of course, we are happy for him in terms of watching the local kid take a major step towards making his dreams come true. He is on the wrong side of town but it is okay to be happy for him.

You might be wondering why it is going to be sad seeing him play for the blue and red Chicago team instead of the black and white one. Well, he is a South Sider. He played for the Chicago White Sox Amateur City Elite youth team. In the history of the program, Howard is the second-highest drafted alumni. Only Corey Ray went higher at fifth overall to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Howard went to Mt. Carmel High School which is a local Chicago high school for those who might not know. He was also a part of that Jackie Robinson West team from Chicago that won the Little League World Series United States bracket in 2014. He is now going to have his chance to play in the Major Leagues with the Cubs on the other side of town.

Regardless of which Chicago team you root for, it is cool to see anyone from our town reach the sky. Ed Howard has a chance to do that right here at home. He is a fantastic baseball player and the Cubs are going to be so lucky to have him. He is a shortstop so it will be interesting to see how that all plays out with Javier Baez but you never know. It is a shame that he isn’t coming to the White Sox but we are happy to see a local kid have success.

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