Owen Ayers earns Baseball America’s Cubs farm honor after 25-homer season

Baseball America named catcher Owen Ayers its 2026 Chicago Cubs minor league player of the year on September 21, recognizing a season that carried a former 19th-round pick through three levels of the system. The Iowa Cubs confirmed the selection the next day and supplied the production behind it: a .289 average, 25 home runs, 82 RBIs and 82 walks across High-A South Bend, Double-A Knoxville and Triple-A Iowa. This is Baseball America’s organizational honor, not an award issued by the major league club.

The route matters as much as the totals. Ayers opened at South Bend, advanced to Knoxville and joined Iowa on July 17. In 447 combined at-bats, the 25-year-old collected 129 hits, including 29 doubles, and scored 80 runs. Iowa says he led Cubs minor leaguers in home runs, ranked third in runs and fourth in both RBIs and walks. Those are full-season figures across three stops, rather than numbers from his shorter Triple-A stay alone.

Baseball America made its pick among prospects in all 30 organizations. Its minor league All-Star list lists a .289/.403/.526 combined batting line for Ayers. The on-base and slugging figures put more shape around Iowa’s average and home-run totals: Ayers reached base frequently while adding power. He was also selected as a third-team catcher on Baseball America’s 2026 minor league All-Star list.

Chicago drafted Ayers out of Marshall University in the 19th round in 2024. His move from High-A to Triple-A this year is a concrete development marker, but an organizational award is not itself a major league roster decision. The Cubs’ current playoff chase remains a separate story from what comes next for their catcher prospect.