Owen Ayers has forced his way onto the Cubs' radar with a breakout 2026 season, and a September call-up could give the organization's No. 2 prospect valuable MLB experience heading into 2027.
Before the end of the 2026 season, the Chicago Cubs could have more help coming to the MLB roster in the form of a top prospect.
Owen Ayers is a 25-year-old catcher who is the No. 2 prospect in the Cubs organization. Ayers was a 19th-round draft pick by the Cubs in the 2024 MLB Draft, but he has really taken professional baseball by storm with his production.
2026 has been the year that Ayers has truly burst onto the scene. In 96 games across three levels of the minor leagues, climbing all the way to Triple-A Iowa, Ayers has 23 doubles, 23 home runs, a .310 batting average, and a 1.007 OPS. All he's done is hit, and that pairs with a 70-grade arm and 1.85-second pop times recorded in the Arizona Fall League.
The Fall League is where Ayers first started to shine, posting a .379 batting average and 1.130 OPS that got him firmly on the radar before 2026. Since then, all he's done is make a case for himself to join the Cubs.
You'd be correct to say that Ayers is extremely inexperienced. Even at 25 years old, he has just 636 career at-bats in the minor leagues. For a 19th-round draft pick out of Marshall University, there's still a lot you'd like to see from Ayers before feeling comfortable carving out a regular role for him in Chicago. But perhaps that's the merit behind a potential late-season call-up.
The North Side Territory podcast with Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma brought up this very thing. The Cubs are reportedly considering bringing up Owen Ayers with September call-ups at the end of the 2026 season and giving him an opportunity to grow while being around the environment of an MLB team.
"They like the idea of guys coming up and learning from veterans," said Sharma on the podcast.
On paper, the Cubs will have the catching situation to figure out for 2027. Miguel Amaya will be back. But Carson Kelly, with his 24 home runs and .746 OPS since joining the Cubs, is set to hit free agency.
The door is open for a free agent signing or a prospect like Ayers to step into a big league opportunity. That, of course, could go down easier if Ayers has one month of experience with the Cubs at the end of 2026 and isn't being thrown into the big leagues totally blind next season.
This is one of the intended purposes of the roster expansion to 28 players. The Cubs don't have a glaring need on offense that could be suitably solved by someone from Triple-A Iowa. So why not use the roster spot on bringing up your top prospect and positioning the organization in the best spot possible for the future?
