Taylor Ward 2026 Orioles · LF · bats R · throws R · 422 PA
Grade
Contact Quality: 78th percentile Power: 13th percentile Discipline: 96th percentile Contact: 57th percentile Hard Contact: 62nd percentile B+ 78th percentile contact quality
Complete Hitter Above average everywhere, with the bat-to-ball skill to match the thump.
A genuinely productive bat Taylor Ward walks at an elite clip — better than 96% of qualified hitters. No real holes either — the weakest mark (strikeout rate) sits right around the league average.
Each spoke is a skill estimate adjusted for sample size — not raw season stats — so farther out = better. Percentiles vs. 463 qualified hitters. Data through 2026-07-09. Plays like… Same archetype, nearest by rate — the hitters whose profile looks most like this one.
What drives it What drives it Every plate appearance ends one of three ways: a strikeout (0 bases), a walk (1 base), or a ball in play worth its estimated bases. The bar splits his value into those pieces, versus the league. More bases is better. In the table, 100th percentile = best in MLB.
Bases per plate appearance
Taylor Ward League Percentile Bases per ball in play(higher = better) .467 .507 78th Walk rate(higher = better) 17% 8% 96th Strikeout rate(fewer = better) 21% 23% 57th
How he hits Hits it to Center most often, and does the most damage to Pull.
Best batted balls Where every ball Taylor Ward put in play landed this season. Dots are colored by estimated bases (EB) — pale slate (easy out) to dark teal (home-run territory). Filled dots are hits; hollow rings are outs — a dark ring in the outfield is a crushed ball that got caught.Hover a dot or a row to link the two; click to watch on Baseball Savant.
Contact & results 2026 · 258 balls in play What kind of contact he makes, and what it turns into. Top bar: his contact mix (grounders, liners, fly balls, pop-ups). Each sits over the thin league-average bar. Below, the rates he puts up — each dot is his mark, the dashed line league median, the teal tick league’s best. Further right is better. Hover or tab any bar or dot for exact values. Starred rows (*) are approximate.
OPS*
.730
lg .697 best 1.033
BABIP
.324
lg .286 best .491
* Approximate: sacrifice flies and bunts aren't distinguishable in our data, so every ball in play counts as an at-bat. Slightly off official figures.
Best games Best games His best games this season by estimated bases.
Trends Multi-season trends · Taylor Ward Seasons 2026 week by week
Trending up: walk rate, contact · Trending down: power
EB/PAi — steady steady vs last season — About the same as last season ↓ CSV Estimated bases per plate appearance — higher = more offensive value
HR%i ▼ declining declining vs last season — Hitting home runs less often than last season ↓ CSV Home runs per plate appearance — higher = more power
BB%i ▲ improving improving vs last season — Walking more often than last season ↓ CSV Walks per plate appearance — higher = more plate discipline
K%i ▲ improving improving vs last season — Striking out less than last season ↓ CSV Strikeouts per plate appearance — lower = better contact
