Taylor Ward

Taylor Ward

31-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Los Angeles Angels
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Ward offered some rare stability amidst another dud of a season from the Angels. The 31-year-old showed no ill effects from a scary incident which ended his 2023 campaign when a hit by pitch in the face resulted in multiple fractures, setting career highs in home runs, RBI and games played. Ward's 13 percent barrel rate and 90.9 mph average exit velocity also represented full-season highs. If anything, Ward underperformed relative to his batted ball data, as his .351 xwOBA was 26 points higher than his actual .325 wOBA. Ward appears likely to be held back by his supporting cast again in 2025, although a healthy season out of Mike Trout would certainly help. While he doesn't offer standout production in any area, Ward was a top-40 outfielder in 2024 and it's reasonable to think he could finish in that range again. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#171
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $7.83 million contract with the Angels in January of 2025.
Reaches 15-homer mark
OFLos Angeles Angels
May 23, 2025
Ward went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, a second RBI, a walk and two total runs scored in Friday's 7-4 win over the Marlins.
ANALYSIS
Ward's hitting streak is up to nine games (15-for-36), and that includes six homers, 11 extra-base hits and 15 RBI. It's an impressive power surge for any player, but this has been a big bounce back in May for Ward after his slump in late April leaked into early May. For the year, he's up to 15 homers, 36 RBI, 30 runs scored, 10 doubles, one triple and no stolen bases through 49 contests. While he's batting just .228, he's posted a .799 OPS and continues to make a big impact with power.
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Batting Stats
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2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
19
4
19
3
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
3
2
4
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+20%
OPS vs LHP
2025
 
 
+3%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+22%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+28%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023vs Left .865 281 41 11 32 2 .301 .359 .506
Since 2023vs Right .722 1021 124 43 127 9 .227 .305 .417
2025vs Left .742 35 5 2 3 0 .212 .257 .485
2025vs Right .761 195 27 13 34 1 .219 .267 .494
2024vs Left .873 130 19 4 13 1 .325 .377 .496
2024vs Right .718 533 54 21 62 5 .226 .310 .408
2023vs Left .896 116 17 5 16 1 .303 .371 .525
2023vs Right .702 293 43 9 31 3 .233 .321 .381
More Splits View More Split Stats
Minor League Splits View Minor League Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+23%
OPS on Road
2025
 
 
+86%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+12%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+15%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023Home .672 633 72 22 68 5 .206 .299 .373
Since 2023Away .828 669 93 32 91 6 .277 .333 .494
2025Home .511 101 10 4 13 1 .151 .188 .323
2025Away .953 129 22 11 24 0 .271 .326 .627
2024Home .706 337 35 12 38 2 .226 .309 .397
2024Away .792 326 38 13 37 4 .267 .337 .455
2023Home .697 195 27 6 17 2 .201 .338 .358
2023Away .804 214 33 8 30 2 .294 .332 .472
More Splits View More Split Stats
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
0.23
 
BB Rate
6.5%
 
K Rate
27.8%
 
BABIP
.228
 
ISO
.275
 
AVG
.218
 
OBP
.265
 
SLG
.493
 
OPS
.758
 
wOBA
.322
 
Exit Velocity
91.1 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
39.1%
 
Barrels/PA
10.9%
 
Expected BA
.246
 
Expected SLG
.520
 
Sprint Speed
21.9 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
35.1%
 
Line Drive %
13.2%
 
Fly Ball %
51.7%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2016
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.
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.
More Fantasy News
Three hits, grand slam in win
OFLos Angeles Angels
May 22, 2025
Ward went 3-for-4 with a grand slam, five total RBI and an additional run scored in Thursday's 10-5 win over the A's.
ANALYSIS
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Continues power surge
OFLos Angeles Angels
May 20, 2025
Ward went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 4-3 win over the Athletics on Monday.
ANALYSIS
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Homers again
OFLos Angeles Angels
May 18, 2025
Ward went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run during Sunday's 6-4 win over the Dodgers.
ANALYSIS
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Keeps up power surge
OFLos Angeles Angels
May 17, 2025
Ward went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Saturday's 11-9 win over the Dodgers.
ANALYSIS
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Goes deep in loss
OFLos Angeles Angels
May 14, 2025
Ward went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to San Diego.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Top AL player last week
OFLos Angeles Angels
May 27, 2025
Ward was named the American League Player of the Week on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
Ward entered last week with a .197 average for the season, but his bat came alive as he went 11-for-27 with four doubles, a triple, three homers, 12 RBI and nine runs in seven contests during the week. The strong stretch has helped to boost Ward's OPS for the season to .777 to go along with 15 home runs, though his .222 average still needs some work.
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