Drew

Ward

The 27-year-old third baseman spent the first seven seasons of his minor league career in the Nationals organization -- most recently hitting .269/.322/.513 with 18 homers and 66 RBI across three levels in 2019. He absolutely raked for the Fargo-Moorhead Hawks in the independent American Association in 2020, slashing .335/.407/.633 with 17 homers and 45 RBI in 58 games. He’ll add corner infield depth for the Tigers.

Ward has raked to begin his full-season debut with Hagerstown, batting .354/.440/.585 with eight extra-base hits and 22 RBI in 16 games. The 19-year-old has been especially hot as of late, with a 1.282 OPS, three home runs, 15 RBI and 8/6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last 10 contests. He’s still several years away from reaching the major leagues, but Ward’s production this season against full-season pitching has his stock on the rise in a big way.

He tallied a career-high five RBI while raising his average from .309 to .333. Ward had been just two for his last 15 before Tuesday’s outburst. He’s tied for second in the Carolina League with five homers and also ranks fourth with 16 RBI. Ward abandoned the leg kick he used in high school during his first few minor league seasons but returned to it this year and it seems to be paying off.