Lincoln Zdunich
When the Baltimore Orioles traded for Taylor Ward at the outset of this offseason, it was the first major trade after the 2025 season came to its conclusion. The O’s sent top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels for the slugging outfielder. The move immediately bolstered Baltimore’s offense.
That hasn’t worked out too well for the O’s thus far. They’re fourth in the American League East with an 18-23 record. That being said, the club has scored 181 runs entering play on Monday. That’s second-best in the division behind only the New York Yankees (215). Baltimore’s problem has been their pitching, with the staff allowing a division-high 222 runs for a run differential of -41.
Ward Showing Unparalleled Plate Discipline
Yet, with all that in mind, Ward has been a stalwart for the O’s. He’s paced the team offensively, leading qualified hitters in every major offensive category except for slugging percentage. Ward boasts a .262/.426/.376 slash line and an .802 OPS.
But the important number to look at here is his on-base percentage. At .426, Ward leads all qualified hitters across MLB in that category due to an MLB-leading 40 walks. And, despite having only one home run on the year, he has an above-average OPS mark. Since 2020, Ward has had a solid OBP, posting numbers above .300 every year.
But this is something different. His chase percentage (10.7 percent) and walk percentage (21.9) are in the 100th percentile across MLB. And Ward’s whiff percentage (16.3) is in the 88th percentile. All three of those marks are career highs for the veteran outfielder. All of that has contributed to an above-average 138 wRC+ (where 100 is average).
Power Outage in Baltimore
When Ward was traded to Baltimore, it was in hopes to add some power to an offense that was in desperate need of it. The O’s also signed Pete Alonso to add to this, but the two have combined for just nine home runs through 41 games. Ward has contributed just one long ball to that combination.
That’s due to a decrease in almost every underlying metric that grades power contact. In 2025, Ward hit a career-high 36 homers. In that season, his barrel percentage (13.7), hard-hit percentage (42.7) and bat speed (69.5 mph) were all higher than his current 2026 numbers. So far this year, those numbers have dropped to 5.5 percent, 36.7 percent and 67.8 mph, respectively. Those are some of the sharpest drop-offs in MLB.
Still, Ward has still managed to provide value for Baltimore. He owns a batting run value of +7 according to Statcast. That’s above average across MLB, with Ward ranking in the 86th percentile. That’s better than the 80th percentile ranking he achieved in 2025 with his high home run total. If Ward can rediscover that power, he could become one of the most feared all-around hitters in the entire American League.
