Taylor Ward

30-Year-Old OutfielderOF

Los Angeles Angels

2024 Stats

AVG

.313

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

Ward's 2023 campaign came to an early end in late July after he was struck in the face by a pitch, which caused multiple fractures that required surgery. It was awful luck for the outfielder but nonetheless marks the second time in the past three seasons he's failed to reach 100 games played. Ward was mostly healthy in 2022 and delivered 23 homers and an .833 OPS, which he was unable to replicate last year before suffering the facial injuries. Still, he had an above-average bat (107 wRC+) with 14 home runs, four steals, 47 RBI, 60 runs and a .253/.335/.421 slash line in 97 contests. Ward seems unlikely to return to that All-Star level of production from 2022 but can still provide value for fantasy managers with solid power and contact skills, though durability concerns cap his ceiling heading into 2024. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#224

ADP

Overall

Dynasty

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'1"

Weight 200

DOB 12/14/1993

Born Dayton, OH

College Fresno State

Drafted 1st Rd 2015 LAA

Clubs another long ball

OFLos Angeles Angels

April 15, 2024

Ward went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored during Monday's 7-3 win over the Rays.

ANALYSIS
Ward launched his third homer of the last four games and extended his hit streak to eight consecutive games. The long ball plated Anthony Rendon in the ninth inning and gave closer Carlos Estevez four runs of cushion. Ward might be headed toward a breakout campaign, being tied for fourth in the majors in home runs (six) with an impressive .313/.333/.612 slash line through 16 games.

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Batting Stats

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2024 MLB Game Log

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2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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2018 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2022

+4%

OPS vs LHP

2024

+72%

OPS vs LHP

2023

+28%

OPS vs LHP

2022

+14%

OPS vs RHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.834	288	38	10	34	2	.289	.365	.470
Since 2022vs Right	.803	754	108	33	97	8	.266	.342	.460
2024vs Left	1.500	8	2	1	4	0	.500	.500	1.000
2024vs Right	.871	61	11	5	15	1	.288	.311	.559
2023vs Left	.896	116	17	5	16	1	.303	.371	.525
2023vs Right	.702	293	43	9	31	3	.233	.321	.381
2022vs Left	.755	164	19	4	14	1	.268	.354	.401
2022vs Right	.864	400	54	19	51	4	.286	.363	.501
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2022

+2%

OPS on Road

2024

+75%

OPS on Road

2023

+15%

OPS on Road

2022

+16%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.802	470	67	16	54	6	.263	.368	.434
Since 2022Away	.817	572	79	27	77	4	.280	.332	.485
2024Home	.638	26	2	0	3	1	.292	.346	.292
2024Away	1.116	43	11	6	16	0	.326	.326	.791
2023Home	.697	195	27	6	17	2	.201	.338	.358
2023Away	.804	214	33	8	30	2	.294	.332	.472
2022Home	.901	249	38	10	34	3	.305	.394	.507
2022Away	.780	315	35	13	31	2	.262	.333	.447
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Stat Review

How does Taylor Ward compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.13

BB Rate

2.9%

K Rate

21.7%

BABIP

.326

ISO

.299

AVG

.313

OBP

.333

SLG

.612

OPS

.945

wOBA

.407

Exit Velocity

90.9 mph

Hard Hit Rate

44.2%

Barrels/PA

11.6%

Expected BA

.343

Expected SLG

.669

Sprint Speed

Ground Ball %

32.7%

Line Drive %

25.0%

Fly Ball %

42.3%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Taylor Ward Prospect Ranking History

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Angels Depth Chart

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Latest Fantasy Rumors

Drawing trade interest

OFLos Angeles Angels

December 23, 2023

Ward, whose 2023 season ended when he suffered facial fractures in late July, is drawing trade interest, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

ANALYSIS
Ward had surgery in early August after an Alek Manoah fastball struck him in the face, but he should enter spring training with no restrictions. The 30-year-old's numbers slipped in 2023 when he was healthy following a breakout 2022 campaign, but he was still above average offensively with a 105 OPS+. Ward is under team control for three more seasons, which is appealing to other clubs. It's also why the Angels might be inclined to keep him.

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2016

A sore groin delayed Ward's debut a week. Once he was ready, Ward was one of the league's top batters with a .333/.443/.644 line in 38 games through June 3. He then visited the IL for 10 days after aggravating a hamstring injury. Upon returning, Ward couldn't find a groove, posting a .222/.297/.339 line over the next 63 games. He then missed a series in Toronto, but when he rejoined the club, Ward found his stroke and finished .339/.387/.548 over his final 34 contests. For the season, Ward's 137 wRC+ should assure a starting job, though the Angels outfield is getting crowded. His plate skills are strong, and Ward's 69th percentile average exit velocity, 66th percentile hard hit rate and 79th percentile all portend an MLB regular. A converted infielder, Ward's outfield defense is improving. Durability is an issue, but when healthy, Ward has the makings of a solid mixed league outfielder at a fair price.

Ward played in a career-high 65 games last season and was a quality fill-in for the Halos with a 111 wRC+ in 237 plate appearances. The 28-year-old should serve as the team's fourth outfielder in 2022, and he could have an expanded role after Justin Upton was designated for assignment late in spring training. The Angels are set to open with Mike Trout, Brandon Marsh and Jo Adell as its starting outfield trio, with the latter two not yet cementing themselves in the majors. Ward could see more action if the two young outfielders struggle, but it make take an injury for him to see enough playing time to warrant serious fantasy consideration.

After hitting .147/.216/.206 in his first 37 plate appearances of the 2020 campaign, Ward was sent down to the alternate site. He rebounded following a 17-day demotion to hit .350/.400/.483 across his final 65 plate appearances. While his surface stats are unreliable due to sample size, Ward has shown the ability to make loud contact across 297 major-league plate appearances -- 52.6% and 47% hard hit rates in his past two seasons, respectively. Ward has also posted a sprint speed in the 77th percentile or higher in every campaign since 2018, sneakily swiping 25 bases on 32 attempts combined between the majors and minors in that span. If Ward shows the ability to make consistent contact, he could wrangle regular playing time and would be a sneaky power/speed threat. At the very least, he should get plenty of at-bats against left-handed pitchers.

Ward followed a breakthrough 2018 minor-league season with another stellar campaign last year, slashing .306/.427/.584 with 27 home runs and 11 stolen bases for Triple-A Salt Lake. His hot bat resulted in five separate callups to the big club, but shoddy defense and poor offense kept each stint prior to September roster expansion brief. Ward was eventually moved to left field and finally appeared comfortable defensively, but his offense never came around at the major-league level. His primary issue was simply making contact as he registered a putrid 47.9 K% in 48 big-league plate appearances. Ward hit the ball hard when he did manage to put bat to ball and has always been adept at drawing walks, but neither stat matters if his strikeout issues persist. This could be a make-or-break year for Ward as he has little left to prove at the minor-league level.

They say it takes catchers longer to materialize at the plate, so perhaps the change to third base is what helped Ward take off at the plate last year. Playing in both the Southern and Pacific Coast League last season, Ward hit .349/.446/.531 with 14 homers and 18 steals before his late promotion to the big-league level. Major-league pitching was more of a struggle for him. You should be fully prepared for him to have another tour around the PCL unless the Angels move Zack Cozart to second base and give the job to Ward. The fact they traded for Tommy La Stella in the offseason points to them looking at a platoon situation at second base and giving Ward more time to work on his transition from catcher to third and continue to work on his swing as last year's numbers do not match up well to the consensus grades scouts have given him.

The Angels surprised many when they selected Ward with the 26th overall pick in the 2015 draft, but the early returns on the catcher out of Fresno State have been excellent. Ward slashed .348/.457/.438 with three home runs and six steals (on nine attempts) in 56 games across rookie ball and Low-A. This came as a very pleasant surprise, as Ward was touted for his plus arm behind the plate and the bat was supposed to lag behind the rest of the profile. Entering his age-22 season, Ward could actually move relatively fast for a catcher, as he has not yet shown any weaknesses. He will probably start the year back at Low-A, but could quickly receive a promotion to High-A if he continues to show an advanced approach at the plate.

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