From High-A to Wrigley: A Cubs prospect's remarkable rise

CHICAGO -- Owen Ayers had a locker in the Cubs’ clubhouse for the final handful of games this past season. The catching prospect was not on the roster but was there to gain experience around the Major League team, sitting in on meetings and getting the chance to pick the brains of veterans.

Along the way, Ayers was also able to experience the wild, champagne-popping celebration at Wrigley Field when the Cubs punched their ticket to the postseason. For a player who began the 2026 season at the High-A level, suddenly being in Chicago and a part of the big league club did not feel so far away.

“Absolutely. It’s really cool,” Ayers said before the Cubs’ final game of the regular season. “And you get to see all these guys as people. On TV, it’s not easy to really know what people are like, or even seeing them on social media or whatever it is. But there’s a lot of great people in this clubhouse.”

The Cubs wanted to give Ayers -- Chicago's No. 2-ranked prospect and No. 88 on the Top 100 list, per MLB Pipeline -- time around the MLB team for a few reasons. The 25-year-old catcher offered some insurance at the time in the event that something happened to either Carson Kelly or Miguel Amaya, but having him around was also due to the longer-term picture.

After two strong seasons as Chicago’s primary catcher, Kelly has a mutual option worth $7.5 million (versus a $1.5 million buyout) for the ‘27 season. Amaya is set to return next season, but the Cubs' front office must weigh whether to retain Kelly, find a new partner for Amaya or give Ayers an opportunity.

First, the Cubs wanted to give Ayers an initial taste of how things worked behind the scenes for catchers in the big leagues.

“Catchers have to process more information than anybody on the roster,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said near the end of the season. “You’ve just got to keep hearing it and hearing it, so you can implement things faster, whether it be scouting reports or signs from the bench during the game. We’re just trying to start that process with Owen.

“At some point, for a young catcher in a Major League game, it goes fast, because they’re like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got to make a pitch call. I’ve got to pick up a sign for a throw over. I’ve got to block a ball. I've got a baserunner that might steal.’ It just goes fast, so we’re trying to start that process to slow him down.”

No matter how the Cubs wind up handling their catching situation this offseason, the 25-year-old Ayers will likely find his way to the Majors in 2027.

“He had a remarkable season,” Counsell said. “Both offensively and defensively, he impressed us on both sides of the ball. And he started in [High-A]. I think we have to understand that a little bit, but I think he had a wonderful season.”

Ayers appeared in 125 games as he worked his way through High-A South Bend, Double-A Knoxville and Triple-A Iowa. The switch-hitting catcher posted a .289/.403/.526 slash line and led all Cubs Minor Leaguers with 25 home runs. He also led the Cubs’ farm system in OPS (.929) and wRC+ (143) among players with at least 250 plate appearances.

Ayers also finished with 29 doubles, 80 runs scored, 82 RBIs and 82 walks last season, building on his breakout performance in the 2025 Arizona Fall League. In 20 AFL games after his stint with Single-A Myrtle Beach in '25, Ayers hit at a .379 clip with 22 walks and a 1.130 OPS. The catcher views that Fall League stint as a turning point in his mental approach.

“That was a big thing for me,” Ayers said. “There were definitely some small things with swing mechanics or mental approach that I cleaned up and worked on, especially in that Fall League last year that led me into this year. But I really think it came down to just letting go of the need to control the results and all that, and just going out there and believing in yourself.”

That mentality helped put Ayers in a position to be around the MLB team for a brief period down the stretch. Learning from Kelly and Amaya, combined with the conversations with other hitters around the cage, will have the prospect more prepared when that next call to Chicago arrives.

“It’s been pretty special,” Ayers said, “to be able to move up those levels and get the chance to be up here and experience this.”