Chicago native Ed Howard was the Cubs’ No. 1 pick in the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 MLB Draft, chosen three picks ahead of Pete Crow-Armstrong, who the Cubs were considering at the time — and who, of course, now is an All-Star center fielder for the Cubs.
Howard’s pro career has been marred by injuries and poor performance and he’s barely played this year — just 13 games split between High-A South Bend and Double-A Knoxville.
Howard turns 24 in January and the Cubs, apparently, would like to see if
there’s still anything there by sending him to the Arizona Fall League.
The other seven Cubs prospects going to the AFL all played at either South Bend or Low-A Myrtle Beach this year, so they’re pretty far from the major leagues. Five of the other seven are pitchers.
Thomas Mangus is a 22-year-old right-hander who was the Cubs’ 18th round pick last year out of Navarro College in Texas. In his first pro season in 2025, split between the ACL Cubs and Myrtle Beach, he’s posted a 2.51 ERA in nine relief appearances.
Luis Martinez-Gomez is a 22-year-old right-hander who was the Cubs’ 10th round pick in 2023 out of Temple College in Texas. This year he has made 37 relief appearances split between Myrtle Beach and South Bend and posted a 1.46 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 55.1 innings.
Koen Moreno is a 24-year-old right-hander who was the Cubs’ fifth round pick in 2020 out of high school in North Carolina. He spent most of this year on the injured list with elbow issues, but recently activated, he posted a 2.25 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12 innings for South Bend.
Mat Peters is a 24-year-old right-hander who was the Cubs’ 12th round pick in 2022 out of Indiana Institute of Technology. He split this year between the ACL Cubs and Myrtle Beach with a 7.54 ERA in 30 relief appearances.
JP Wheat is a 23-year-old right-hander who was the Cubs’ 16th round pick in 2022 out of high school in Alabama. He has spent most of this year on the injured list, pitching in just seven games in April and May with a 4.09 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 33 innings.
Here are the other two position players besides Howard who will play in the AFL.
Owen Ayers is a 24-year-old catcher who was the Cubs’ 19th round pick last year out of Marshall University. He batted .238/.341/.420 with six home runs in 65 games before going on the IL about six weeks ago.
Cole Mathis is a 22-year-old infielder who was the Cubs’ second round pick last year out of the College of Charleston. He has batted .215/.336/.402 in 29 games for Myrtle Beach this year, also spending quite a bit of time on the injured list.
It looks like the Cubs are using the AFL this year to have longer looks at prospects who have previously been injured. There aren’t really any top Cubs prospects going to the AFL.
Cubs prospects will play for the Mesa Solar Sox, along with prospects from the Yankees, Rays, Athletics and Marlins. The Solar Sox play their home games at the Cubs’ spring training facility, Sloan Park. As I’ve mentioned before, if you’re in the Phoenix area in October or early November, AFL games are fun to attend, the crowds are small so you can hear everything on the field, and the price is right ($14 for adults, $12 for seniors or ages 11-17, free for kids 10 and under). Here’s the AFL schedule. Play begins Monday, Oct. 6:
