7:22pm: The Angels have officially announced the signing.
6:54pm: Ward’s bonus is $1.67MM, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. That will give the Angels a savings of $364K against their pool that they can use to sign other picks.
3:56pm: The Angels have agreed to terms with first-round pick Taylor Ward, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. Ward, a 21-year-old junior catcher from Fresno State, was the 26th overall pick of the draft. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, but the pool value of the pick is $2,034,500.
MLB.com calls Ward “primarily a catch-and-throw guy,” noting that his arm and overall defensive potential should make him at least an MLB backup but that his hitting isn’t as strong. Baseball America (subscription-only) offers similar praise for Ward’s excellent arm but notes that his offense is a concern despite a bit of power, pointing out that he “lacks a natural feel for hitting.”
Gotta be way underslot.
I hope so…that’s the only logic
I think the savings from this pick will allow us to sign the 11th and 12th round picks. That’ll add some needed upside in the bats department.
To be far the Angels have a good track record of producing catchers that stick in the majors.
omg….way to much money
imo they didn’t need another catcher, maybe another outfielder with the first pick
Why an outfielder? Who is available in the lower levels as catcher? Bandy? The position is absolutely bare for the Angels. They need another catching prospect, since Iannetta isn’t going to be with the team forever.
imo they didn’t need another catcher, maybe another outfielder with the first pick