OC Register: Taylor Ward still has plenty to learn after a month as the Angels’ third baseman

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — As the hitter stepped into the box, Andrelton Simmons got the attention of Taylor Ward and began to, for lack of a better description, flap his wings.

The Angels’ rookie third baseman looked quizzically at the veteran shortstop, then cast his eyes upward.

“I had no idea,” Ward said later, describing his momentary confusion.

Then Chicago White Sox outfielder Adam Engel dropped a bunt down the third base line. Ward charged in, barehanded it and threw too late and too wide to get an out at first.

When they got back to the dugout, Ward found out what Simmons’ signal had meant.

Engel can fly.

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Although Ward was playing in, ready for the bunt, Simmons wanted him to know he had to be in even more, because of Engel’s speed.

“Now I’ve got the lingo,” Ward said. “He’s teaching me a lot.”

Simmons, a three-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop, said Ward is a good student in his first year as a third baseman.

“Wardy is learning a lot,” Simmons said. “His ears are open. He’s making adjustments. But he’s gotten a lot better really quickly.”

A year after he was languishing in the minors as a prospect who seemed to be failing offensively and defensively, Ward has learned a new position and changed his swing, a pair of moves that got him to the big leagues.

Since the 24-year-old former first-round pick made his big league debut on Aug. 14, Ward had started every game at third base until Tuesday, when he got a day off. That allowed him to do a more intense workout on the field hours before the game, as he continues to learn the intricacies of playing third base in the majors.

“It’s like a baby taking that first crawl,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s certainly not overwhelmed. Experience is the best teacher, and right now he’s on the shallow end of the learning curve.”

Ward has hit .214 with three homers and a .640 OPS in his first 92 big league plate appearances. Defensively, he’s made two errors, although there have been a handful of others plays that have shown his inexperience.

Simmons said Ward needs to learn how much time he has to make a throw, which is partly the experience of knowing how fast the opponents are. Also, he sometimes has trouble deciding when to try to backhand a ball and when he can get in front of it.

“No matter how much you practice things, you need to experience things in the game,” Scioscia said. “He’ll improve.”

The same goes for hitting.

A year ago, Ward had hit a combined .258 with nine homers at Class-A and Double-A, as a catcher. He went home for the winter and reworked his swing to – surprise! – focus on getting the ball in the air.

Ward said he stands a little more upright now, and he added a leg kick.

Just as he was trying that in spring training, though, he got the news that the Angels didn’t want him to catch anymore.

“It was pretty devastating at the time,” Ward said, adding he got over the shock in a couple days.

The Angels told him that their testing showed how much faster and stronger he was before the season, a clear indication that the grind of catching was hurting him physically. They also relieved him of the mental strain of the position.

Without the physical or mental toll of catching, and with a new swing that helped him get more balls in the air, Ward hit .349 with a .977 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A.

Clearly, there was nothing left for him to prove as a hitter in the minors, so a month ago the Angels brought him to the majors and planted him at third. He’s gone out for early defensive work three or four days a week, and he’s remained in the lineup despite his struggles at the plate.

Hitting coach Eric Hinske said he believes Ward will get better with experience because of the way he thinks hitting. Ward said he’s reviewed video of every at-bat this season.

“He’s pretty deep,” Hinske said. “He’s got a good approach. He has strike zone discipline. He doesn’t chase. He’s definitely trying to hit the ball in the air. There’s no slug on the ground.”

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Whether Ward’s approach will work in the majors remains to be seen. Other hitters –including Kole Calhoun – have found themselves slumping in the majors because a mis-applied fly ball approach led to too much head movement.

Ward acknowledges that’s an issue, and he’s going to try to fix that over the winter. He also said he needs to learn to handle fastballs at the top of the zone, which minor league pitchers couldn’t throw for strikes as effectively as the big leaguers.

“I think I’ve gotten a lot better at the way I view the game now, the way I go about things and what I need to do to be successful,” he said. “I wish I knew this a few years ago. Now, I’m just going to run with it.”

He said his goal is to prove this month that he can be the everyday third baseman next season.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I just need to prove it here. This is the time to show it.”

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