After the owners and MLBPA were unable to prevent the lockout, Major League Baseball has hit a huge pause.  While we worry about if there will be baseball in the future, it’s been difficult to find much to be optimistic about.  The good news is that some of our minor league players are training and preparing for future MLB success.  Here is a quick snippet of Ed Howard and James Triantos fielding grounders.  James Triantos was Chicago’s 2021 Second-round pick and is the #11 prospect.  Ed Howard was the 2020 First-round pick and is looking to improve on his 2021 season.

Good morning. Here’s a little Ed Howard and James Triantos infield for your timeline. pic.twitter.com/kt8LHltbcT

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) February 28, 2022

Who Is Ed Howard?

Ed Howard first caught eyes playing in the 2014 Little League World Series with Jackie Robinson West in Washington Heights, Illinois.  Following this, Howard ended up playing for Mount Carmel High School.  Howard slashed .396/.478/.625 for a 1.103 OPS before being drafted by the Cubs in June of 2020.

MLB Pipeline scouting report after he was drafted raves about Howard’s defense.   He was described as “The best defensive player in the system” and the “top true shortstop in the 2020 draft”.  Cubs scout Lucas McKnight also described him as “one of the elite defenders in the Draft“.

Howard’s 2021 Minor League Season

Ed Howard signed for $3.75 million after he was drafted, but the 2020 minor league season was canceled by the pandemic.  In 2021, the #7 ranked prospect had success with Myrtle Beach.  At single-A, Howard slashed .277/.315/.592 in 80 games played.  Howard played both shortstop and second base for the Pelicans.  His defense has always been the best part of his game which will be crucial playing in the middle infield.

The middle infield for the Cubs is very deep right now.  Howard will battle other prospects Christian and Alexis Hernandez, and Reginald Preciado to make it to the MLB roster.  Fangraphs notes that Howard has to develop at the plate but that his defense is excellent.  Now that Howard is out of the midwest in the winter months, more time practicing hitting should lead to an improvement.

I am looking forward to seeing how Ed Howard develops in the next few years, it would be amazing to see this Chicagoan succeed with the Cubs.

James Triantos

In this clip, the infielder working with Ed Howard is the 2021 second-round pick, James Triantos.  The draft pick from James Madison High School spent 2021 with the Arizona Cubs in Rookie ball.  The 19-year-old plays middle infield with the possibility to be a designated hitter.

In 2021, Triantos had a nice slash line of .327/.376/.594 with 6 home runs in 25 games played.  He had some troubles in the field, committing four errors in 115 innings at shortstop and second base.  James Triantos has the potential to be an excellent second baseman.  BaseballAmerica ranks him as the #7 best second baseman in the minors.  The comparisons have been lofty, with some comparing him to David Wright.

If defensive struggles continue, he should be able to make the move to designated hitter.

Looking Forward to 2022

As the lockout continues with no end in sight, there is not much else to do except look for good news elsewhere.  A tweet from last week projects Triantos and Howard to be the middle infield duo for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.   We see that mid-season acquisitions Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kevin Alcantara are patrolling the outfield in this projection as well.

My projected opening day lineup for Low-A Myrtle Beach (@Pelicanbaseball)

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF)
2. James Triantos (2B)
3. Owen Caissie (DH)
4. Felix Stevens (1B)
5. Kevin Alcantara (RF)
6. Ed Howard (SS)
7. Reggie Preciado (3B)
8. Ethan Hearn (C)
9. Ismael Mena (LF)

— Greg Huss (@OutOfTheVines) February 25, 2022

The infield throughout the minor league teams is very strong and hopefully, we will get to see these two develop and make it to Double-A assuming we have baseball again.  The Hernandez brothers at shortstop and Liam Spence at second are also prospects who could excel quickly.