AngelsWin.com Top 30 Prospects: #4 C Taylor Ward

[Angelsjunky]

^I mean closer to 4/2 wins, although I consider 2-3 wins to be a quality regular, 3-5 to be a borderline star, and 5+ to be a star.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

I'm with AJ.  

It's hard to get excited about a guy who will likely be marginal or a platoon player, especially at #4 in the organization.  Slide him down to low double digits and I have no issue based on rank or expectations.  I guess I just expect more from a top-5 prospect.

[Junkballer]

Nonie was #7, Marsh #5.  Who was #6? 

Nevermind, Middleton

[ten ocho recon scout]

On 3/13/2017 at 9:06 PM, ettin said:

"We're goin' to Sizzler! We're goin' to Sizzler!"

Just watched that today

Is this the guy we took first, and the front office was high fiving, and everyone thought we were stupid? I know we drafted a catcher first (or second) 2 years in a row. Is this the guy who everyone was pissed when we took him so early?

[Second Base]

9 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Just watched that today

Is this the guy we took first, and the front office was high fiving, and everyone thought we were stupid? I know we drafted a catcher first (or second) 2 years in a row. Is this the guy who everyone was pissed when we took him so early?

Yes, he's the guy.

Part of me honestly wonders if the video of the celebration was all show. Inside the draft room, teams are excited when they get the kid they want, there are smiles, handshakes, phone calls and then they move on to the next pick. The Angels were pretending like they'd just won the freakin' World Series.

With so many better options on the board, they probably liked Ward enough to justify spending less in the first round and more in the second.

Not the best strategy. From where I'm standing, Ward would've been a good pick up in the third or fourth round.

[Hubs]

He is a good hitting catcher. He was a good hitting catcher in College, and a premium defender. He was a good hitter in 2015. He had a few bad months in High A. Catcher's typically develop slowly, but he's not suffering Kaleb Cowart style in the minors. 

Sorry for the optimism, but his power is real, and he can be a great catcher. 

What if he turned into the premium Napoli/Mathis Hybrid?

[Make Angels Great Again]

20 minutes ago, Hubs said:

What if he turned into the premium Napoli/Mathis Hybrid?

 

He would break Angelswin.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Scioscia would have permanent chub, a really huge erection just like Ron Burgundy.  That hybrid player would have superior SQUAT, which should be an analytical term if it's not already.

[Jig Stew]

29 minutes ago, HaloJustinBieber said:

Scioscia would have permanent chub, a really huge erection just like Ron Burgundy.  That hybrid player would have superior SQUAT, which should be an analytical term if it's not already.

Yeah!!!!.... SQUAT talk shouldn't mean SQUAT in analytic jargon

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Hubs said:

He is a good hitting catcher. He was a good hitting catcher in College, and a premium defender. He was a good hitter in 2015. He had a few bad months in High A. Catcher's typically develop slowly, but he's not suffering Kaleb Cowart style in the minors. 

Sorry for the optimism, but his power is real, and he can be a great catcher. 

What if he turned into the premium Napoli/Mathis Hybrid?

You don't have to apologize for optimism. Not to me at least. It's ok to have alternative opinions about these kids. I've had so many of them over the years. All it does is open you up for criticism.

I thought Mark Trumbo would never make it in the majors. I thought Peter Bourjos was going to be a premier starting CF. I thought Trevor Reckling was better than Martin Perez and Brandon Wood was going to hit 30 HR's a year.

Those failures keep me humble, otherwise the Morales, Segura, Richards, Tropeanos and Calhouns would go to my head.

There are definitely a handful of guys I'm excited about. There are also a couple I'm going to miss on. Just make sure you're ready to take the criticism when you're wrong.

[tdawg87]

The thing about Ward is that he's pretty much a guarantee to make the majors. I know that isn't saying a lot, but only a small percentage of prospects ever make the show. 

Will he be an impact player? Maybe. Probably not. But he'll get plenty of games behind the plate. His defense alone will get him there. Hopefully his bat develops and he can turn into a solid all-around catcher.

[Second Base]

37 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

The thing about Ward is that he's pretty much a guarantee to make the majors. I know that isn't saying a lot, but only a small percentage of prospects ever make the show. 

Will he be an impact player? Maybe. Probably not. But he'll get plenty of games behind the plate. His defense alone will get him there. Hopefully his bat develops and he can turn into a solid all-around catcher.

His high floor certainly comes into play when ranking him. Plus, despite the lack of production, his ceiling is still pretty high, and he has a good second half.

[ten ocho recon scout]

12 hours ago, Hubs said:

He is a good hitting catcher. He was a good hitting catcher in College, and a premium defender. He was a good hitter in 2015. He had a few bad months in High A. Catcher's typically develop slowly, but he's not suffering Kaleb Cowart style in the minors. 

Sorry for the optimism, but his power is real, and he can be a great catcher. 

What if he turned into the premium Napoli/Mathis Hybrid?

Like cant hit or catch?

[Angel Oracle]

7 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Like cant hit or catch?

But makes great throws to 1B, after the runner has left for 2B.

[Chuck]

In case you missed our interview last season with Ward...

 

Taylor Ward Interview August 29 2016 from AngelsWin.com on Vimeo.