Taylor Ward

Following his junior season with Fresno State, Ward was ranked as the 70th-best draft prospect by Baseball America and 99th by MLB.com.

Joseph Taylor Ward (born December 14, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder and third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Ward was raised in Central Florida before moving to Indio, California, where he attended Shadow Hills High School and emerged as a notable baseball prospect as a catcher.

He played three seasons of college baseball for the Fresno State Bulldogs, earning multiple conference accolades.

Joseph Taylor Ward was born on December 12, 1993, in Dayton, Ohio, to parents Joe and Samantha Ward.

During his childhood, Ward's family moved to Oviedo, Florida, a suburb of Orlando.

He enrolled at Hagerty High School for his freshman year of high school in 2008.

In 2009, Ward's family moved to the Coachella Valley in Southern California, where he enrolled at the newly-opened Shadow Hills High School in Indio for his sophomore year.

He played catcher for the Shadow Hills baseball team and was a two-time De Anza League First Team selection.

In his junior season, he was named the De Anza League MVP and Offensive Player of the Year while also earning CIF Southern Section First Team honors.

In his senior season, he caught for eventual MLB pitcher Tyson Miller, forming the team's top battery.

Ward committed to play college baseball for California State University, Fresno, becoming the first student in Shadow Hills history to receive an athletic scholarship from an NCAA Division I school.

He was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 31st round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft but did not sign with the team, moving forward with his plans to attend college.

Ward enrolled at California State University, Fresno to play college baseball for the Fresno State Bulldogs.

He signed with the Angels on June 12 for a $1,670,000 bonus, below the recommended $2,036,000 for the 26th draft slot.

In 2013, his freshman season, Ward's Bulldogs teammates included eventual major leaguers Aaron Judge, Jordan Luplow, and Austin Wynns.

In his first college season, Ward posted a .196 batting average with three home runs and 15 runs batted in (RBIs) in 46 games.

After the season, he made his collegiate summer baseball debut with the Anchorage Bucs of the Alaska Baseball League, batting .206 with three RBIs in 19 games.

He became the 17th player in Fresno State history to be selected in the first round of the MLB draft, succeeding Aaron Judge's 2013 first-round selection.

In 2014, during his sophomore season, Ward earned two Mountain West Conference Player of the Week selections, first on February 24 and later on March 3.

He finished the season batting .320 with six home runs and 41 RBIs, ranking second on the team in each category behind the elder Luplow.

He was named to the All-Mountain West second team as a catcher.

Following the season, he was given a tryout for the United States collegiate national baseball team on May 28 and he made the 24-man roster on June 30.

Ward also played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League, joining Jake Cronenworth, Bobby Dalbec, and David Fletcher on the team.

In seven games for Orleans, Ward went 4-for-20 (.222) with a home run and a pair of RBIs.

The Angels drafted Ward in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft, 26th overall.

In 2015, his junior season, Ward batted .304 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs, leading the team in the latter two categories.

He was named to the All-Mountain West first team as a catcher.

Ward was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the best catcher in college baseball.

Ward was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft, the 26th overall pick.

Ward was one of three Fresno State players selected in the 2015 draft.

Ward made his professional debut with the Rookie Advanced-level Orem Owlz of the Pioneer League, going 0-for-4 against the Ogden Raptors in his first game on August 18, 2015.

He recorded his first professional hit on August 23, a single off Grand Junction Rockies pitcher Chad Zurat.

Ward was selected as a Pioneer League All-Star, scoring a run during the exhibition on August 4.

In 32 games with Orem, Ward batted .349 with two home runs, 19 RBIs, a .489 on-base percentage (OBP), and .459 slugging percentage (SLG).

On August 6, he was promoted to the Single-A Burlington Bees of the Midwest League.

After spending four seasons in the Angels farm system and being converted to a third baseman, he made his MLB debut in 2018.

In his first four major league seasons, Ward did not find consistent playing time and was sent back down to the minor leagues on multiple occasions.

In 2019, the Angels converted him to primarily play the outfield, forcing him to compete with fellow top prospects Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh for a spot while veterans Mike Trout, Justin Upton, and Kole Calhoun received most of the playing time.

In 2022, Ward became the Angels' primary right fielder and was credited with a breakout season after he hit 23 home runs and led qualified Angels batters with a .281 batting average and a .360 on-base percentage (OBP).