Taylor

Ward

Ward got the O’s on the board with a 394-foot (107.4 mph EV) three-run blast off of Joey Cantillo in the fifth inning, trimming their deficit to two runs at 5-3. The 32-year-old outfielder also singled in the contest. He has done a very nice job in his first year with the Orioles, slashing .295/.388/.445 with a homer, 11 RBI and one stolen base in his first 103 plate appearances.

Ward smacked a two-out single off of Adrian Houser in the fifth inning then raced around to score on Pete Alonso’s two-run double. He also singled to lead off the seventh and scored on an infield single off the bat of Colton Cowser. Ward is still looking for his first home run of the season, but is slashing a terrific .356/.435/.525 with 10 doubles, seven runs scored and eight RBI in his first 69 plate appearances with the O’s.

Ward had 36 homers and 31 doubles last year. Through 11 games this season, he has zero homers but an MLB-high nine doubles. A bit of a reversal was expected there with Ward trading Angel Stadium for Camden Yards, but it’s not a ballpark thing at all so far; none of Ward’s doubles would have been homers in any ballpark. In fact, his farthest pulled flyball to date this season was a 260-foot single. It’s probably all pretty meaningless at this point. Ward is hitting .383/.464/.574 and has eight RBI despite hitting only first and second.

As a team, the Orioles had eight hits in the contest, with Ward the only member of the O’s to tally more than one. He led off the fourth inning with a double off of Braxton Ashcraft then scored his club’s first run on an RBI double off the bat of Pete Alonso. While he has yet to hit a home run, Ward is off to a nice start with his new ballclub, slashing .343/.429/.457 with five RBI and a 9/6 K/BB ratio in his first 42 plate apperarnces.

Ward didn’t seem like the ideal choice to open as the Orioles’ leadoff hitter, but he done just fine there so far, batting .300 with a 4/3 K/BB. He is still looking for his first homer. Last year, he had 36 of those for the Angels, though he hit .228 with 175 strikeouts in the process.

Even against a right-handed pitcher, Ward will man the top spot in the lineup. That figures to be a valuable place in the order, given the caliber of hitters behind him. Ward was likely going too late in drafts and could be in for a big season in Baltimore. The rest of the Orioles’ lineup is: Taylor Ward LF, Gunnar Henderson SS, Pete Alonso 1B, Adley Rutschman C, Samuel Basallo DH, Tyler O’Neill RF, Colton Cowser CF, Coby Mayo 3B, and Blaze Alexander 2B.

Ward broke open the scoring with a three-run blast off of Noah Davis in the fifth inning. It was Ward’s first home run and RBI of the spring, but the 32-year-old remains a boring upside pick in fantasy baseball drafts since it seems like he will be the leadoff hitter for a good Orioles lineup.

Newly minted Orioles skipper Craig Albernaz told reporters Ward is a candidate to lead off this season, particularly against left-handed pitchers. The 32-year-old offseason acquisition’s fantasy value would increase with a permanent move to the top of the order, especially since he would be getting on-base ahead of superstars Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso. It’s an intriguing development that fantasy managers should continue monitoring as Grapefruit League action gets underway.

Ward was just traded to the Orioles in the offseason and will hit in the middle of their lineup for at least one more season. He did hit 36 home runs and drive in 103 runs for the Angels last season, so if he can come close to producing that in 2026, he would be a tremendous bargain at this cost.

Ward is a perfectly solid first-division regular, coming off a season in which he hit .228/.317/.475 with 36 homers and 103 RBI. Still, moving on from Rodríguez’s considerable long-term upside when they could have more easily signed a veteran bat suggests that the Orioles just don’t feel very good about his long-term outlook. Ward, who has one year left of arbitration before free agency, figures to step in as Baltimore’s starting left fielder, leaving two outfield spots and some DH at-bats to be divided among Colton Cowser, Dylan Beavers, Tyler O’Neill and anyone else who might emerge like Heston Kjerstad or Enrique Bradfield Jr. From a fantasy standpoint, it’s a slight downgrade for Ward. Camden Yards sis a less appetizing ballpark for right-handed power hitters, despite recent changes to end the “Walltimore” era in left field. While the Orioles’ lineup is unquestionably stronger than the Halos’, Ward likely hits lower in the order than he would have in Anaheim, which could cap his counting-stat upside in the short term. He’s a top-40 range outfielder heading into fantasy drafts next spring.