Product of baseball family, Cubs prospect Ayers learning more lessons in Fall League

Baseball was always the path Owen Ayers wanted to take.

Kathy Ayers, the native of Sarasota, Florida’s mom, played softball at Valdosta State. His dad, Jeff Ayers, played baseball at the same school. With two parents closely connected to the sport, he was holding a bat in his hand by the time he was 4 years old.

“It’s cool having parents who are very into baseball and softball and just always there to support me and understand how the game is played and what things I need to work on,” Ayers said. “It was pretty cool growing up and having them always there for me.”

While other athletes typically pick up other sports as a young kid before deciding upon their favorite, Ayers knew he was born into this one.

“Just always loved it and didn’t really play any other sports,” Ayers said. “Maybe for fun with my friends, but baseball was always the main thing for me.”

Some of his earliest experiences enabled him to make lifelong friends from his teams. At 10 years old, Ayers went to the Sarasota Cal Ripken playoffs, and his team was an out away from elimination before rallying into the event's World Series.

“I had a great group of friends that I am still friends with to this day,” Ayers said. “We were down to two outs, down by three runs in the last inning, and we ended up coming together and making it to the World Series, so that is something we’ll always remember. That was a pretty special moment for us.”

Fast forward to high school, Ayers developed into a versatile defensive player, playing catcher and several other positions for Sarasota High School. Instead of taking a traditional college route, Ayers opted to take a junior college path, heading to State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.

In two seasons with the Manatees, Ayers served as an outfielder and a catcher, batting .276 with 23 home runs and was named to the First Team in the All-Sun Coast Conference. Ayers kept hoping for a transfer to a Division 1 school.

“I just kept believing in myself even when I was at the junior college level and didn’t have as many opportunities at the time but made the most of what I got,” Ayers said.

He transferred to Marshall University in 2023 and played two more college seasons.

Ayers played in all 53 games for Marshall in 2024, batting .283 with 34 RBIs and seven home runs. The catcher also set the program's single-season doubles record with 23.

The opportunities he was given in junior college and at a Division I program helped give Ayers an even bigger understanding of the sport. Getting at-bats and learning the work it takes to become a better player assisted him in getting drafted by a Major League Baseball team.

“Learning the ups and downs of the game and how difficult it can be and how fun it can be,” Ayers said. “Just learning how much work it really takes to put in to become successful at this game, and it taught me a lot.”

The 24-year-old was selected by the Chicago Cubs during the 19th round of the 2024 Draft (572nd overall) with his friends, family and girlfriend by his side.

In his first year in the Minor Leagues with the Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Ayers struggled with the adjustment. In 18 games, he posted a .190 average and a .573 OPS, but he saw the season as a learning experience.

“I had a little bit of success, a little bit of failure, saw where I was and what I needed to improve on,” Ayers said. “Knowing there was going to be a lot of work and it’s not something that’s going to be given to me, so it just helped me understand what I needed to do to get to where I want to be.”

Going into his second season in Myrtle Beach, Ayers added muscle after being an undersized player for most of his playing career. He also worked on his defense behind the plate.

In college when he was both a catcher and outfielder, he played more as an outfielder, leaving questions about his catching. The switch-hitter worked with Pelicans development coach Kyle Sutherland to become more confident at the position.

The adjustments gave Ayers a boost in his second season, bumping his average to .238 and OPS to .761 to go along with 47 RBIs, 14 doubles and six home runs in 65 games. He played 56 games at catcher, putting up a .981 fielding percentage and totaling 59 assists.

In the final month and a half of the season, he hit a small bump in the road when he broke his hand. The injury was hard to come to terms with for Ayers because of his strong bond with his team and the improvements he had made.

After surgery on his hand, he started the short rehab process to get back to full health. Desi Wilson, a former Major Leaguer who played a season with the San Francisco Giants, worked with Ayers as his rehab hitting coach. Wilson not only helped him with his hitting, but the mental game as well.

“He helped me a lot mentally and physically,” Ayers said. “Just learning what it takes to be at that higher level. He played in the big leagues for a little bit and he’s learned from a lot of great people, so just trying to learn as much as I can from him and soak in the time that I had.”

• Subscribe to the MLB Pipeline Newsletter

The Cubs sent a healthy Ayers to the Arizona Fall League, where he has thrived to start the season. In his first week, he went 5-for-11 with two doubles, a homer, four RBIs and two walks for a 1.447 OPS. The performance earned him AFL Hitter of the Week honors.

But even the kudos garnered him some attention, Ayers just wants to continue improving his overall game.

“Just trying to keep doing what I’ve been doing and keep my head down,” he said. “[The AFL] has been great, but there’s still a lot of work to be done ahead, so just trying to be thankful and grateful for this opportunity being with these guys."