Taylor Ward is catching again!

[Chuck]

 

[Slegnaac]

It has been a strange year.

[mmc]

Well said.

[Blarg]

I think Ward's true positional value to the Angels would be at catcher. His offense in the minors took big strides when they pulled him out from behind the plate. Now with some coaching at the MLB level with Molina he should be able to move forward as a catcher. 

[Angels 1961]

His trade value would also increase. If we fall out of race put Ward behind plate for few games see how he handles it. So I'm thinking he will be on 30 man roster to start season.

[Taylor]

I heard tdawg is also catching again.

[DMVol]

As an OF’er or 3bman, he needs to be a really good hitter to get in to the conversation for playing  time....At C, he doesn’t need to be a great hitter, he needs to be what he maybe can be—-a pretty good hitter....if he could get his defense to an adequate level, he might get some consideration...

[Angels in 2030]

Dipoto salivating right now.  Gather his scouts together for emergency meeting to come up with a big enough proposal to get him.  Heard saying, I told you so.   fist pump incoming 

[eligrba]

Don’t care.

[ettin]

He was already practicing at 3B, 1B, and LF. Adding C just increases his versatility and I have high hopes for his bat, the guy has murdered pitchers in the high Minors the last two seasons and I love his on-base ability. I think he can be a productive utility type at the corners (both infield and outfield) and behind the dish. Super utility guy even.

[failos]

Best time to catch something

[Tank]

Taylor ward is not going to have a very long MLB career.

[Glen]

Taylor Ward catching is like fetch, it will never happen.  I wish for nothing but the best for him, but I just don't see him working out.

[Angel Oracle]

13 hours ago, Fourts said:

Dipoto salivating right now.  Gather his scouts together for emergency meeting to come up with a big enough proposal to get him.  Heard saying, I told you so.   fist pump incoming 

And acts like he just acquired Johnny Bench.

But seriously, this could be Ward's ticket to a decent enough MLB career in a utility role. 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Angel Oracle

[Dtwncbad]

To maximize wins for the Angels, the best utilization of Taylor Ward in the majors would be zero innings on the field at any position and zero plate appearances. 

[Stradling]

Yea I agree, those 177 at bats over two years has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is what he is.   Never has a major league player become anything when he has failed in that large of sample size.  

[Angel Oracle]

He has shown decent power.

K’s are the big issue.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Angel Oracle

[ettin]

5 hours ago, Glen said:

Taylor Ward catching is like fetch, it will never happen.  I wish for nothing but the best for him, but I just don't see him working out.

I actually see him coming in, in a long extrs innings game or when we're behind by a lot. Sort of a mop up duty role.

[Dtwncbad]

4 hours ago, Stradling said:

Yea I agree, those 177 at bats over two years has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is what he is.   Never has a major league player become anything when he has failed in that large of sample size.  

I guess I would have to look up all his number to verify, but my lack of confidence comes from the guys history of needing multiple years at every level to get decent.  So now he is 25 in AAA and showing some offense?  Cool, and at 26 he will probably be an even better AAA player.

Major league teams can’t give players multiple years of experience to end up decent.  They just move on.

I have moved on.

Could he end up being something?  Sure maybe don’t care.  I would rather see the Angels spend at bats and development time on a younger player that looks like they have a ceiling higher than what Ward shows.

I am not pulling against him.  Jut done having blind fan optimism for a guy that hasn’t shown me anything to remain optimistic about. 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Dtwncbad

[m0nkey]

2 hours ago, ettin said:

I actually see him coming in, in a long extrs innings game or when we're behind by a lot. Sort of a mop up duty role.

The Angels will never be down by a lot.  

[Jeff Fletcher]

On 7/18/2020 at 6:40 PM, DMVol said:

As an OF’er or 3bman, he needs to be a really good hitter to get in to the conversation for playing  time....At C, he doesn’t need to be a great hitter, he needs to be what he maybe can be—-a pretty good hitter....if he could get his defense to an adequate level, he might get some consideration...

You can be a mediocre hitter if you’re really good defensively and you can be mediocre defensively if you’re a really good hitter. 
 

Which of those profiles do you think Ward is as a catcher?

Edited July 20, 2020 by Jeff Fletcher

[eligrba]

7 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

You can be a mediocre hitter if you’re really good defensively and you can be mediocre defensively if you’re a really good hitter. 
 

Which of those profiles do you think Ward is as a catcher?

Uhm, khakis?

Read more here: https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/college/mountain-west/fresno-state/article23624788.html#storylink=cpy

[DMVol]

12 hours ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

You can be a mediocre hitter if you’re really good defensively and you can be mediocre defensively if you’re a really good hitter. 
 

Which of those profiles do you think Ward is as a catcher?

I was trying to be optimistic for him, Fletch....Geez you can be a wet blanket some of the time....but I do love your work...

[HaloNArizona]

On 7/18/2020 at 5:42 PM, Angels 1961 said:

His trade value would also increase. If we fall out of race put Ward behind plate for few games see how he handles it. So I'm thinking he will be on 30 man roster to start season.

Not this year...You can only make trades from your 60 player pool....

Who is going to make a move for a (so far) career minor league player??  Unless some team loses every single catcher in their player pool....maybe.  But a trade this year is not likely to happen.

[Hubs]

Taylor Ward can still be a major league hitter. Guys who have 1.000 OPS seasons at AAA in their careers on the 60 man include Ward, Walsh, Rojas, and do not include Thaiss, Hermosillo, Fletcher, Adell, Marsh, etc.

Is it time for Ward to have a good season in the majors? Yes. Is he Kaleb Cowart? No.