Shadow Hills High grad Taylor Ward gets called up to the majors
Taylor Ward is not new to making headlines in Southern California. The Shadow Hills High standout’s stellar play at the high school level earned him a spot with Fresno State, where he continued to make his case as a prime prospect. In 2015, the Los Angeles Angeles drafted him in the first round.
Today, he was called up to the Los Angeles Angels.
Ward, the No.14 prospect in Angels organization, made a position switch from catcher to 3rd this season while playing the Angels AA affiliate, the Mobile Bay Bears. Just over a month after the switch, he made the jump to Triple-A ball, being promoted to the Salt Lake City Bees.
By the beginning of August, his promotion to the majors seemed inevitable; as of August 7, he touted the best batting average (.348) in the minor leagues. And the top-tier brass has been taking notice; Angels General Manager Billy Eppler spoke highly of Ward to the Orange County Register:
“He’s raking, he could use more time in the minors learning to play third. This is his first season after moving from catcher. The game is going to present you with a variety of plays and the randomness of those plays is hard to replicate in practice, For him getting an opportunity to play third base every day in Salt Lake, at this moment in time is what we felt was best.”
Ward will not be active for the Angels 7:10 game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park tonight, but could be active tomorrow, pending roster moves, according to Jeff Fletcher.
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