RADIO
Taylor Ward Playing Through Bone Bruise in his Hand
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Taylor Ward (hand) said he has been playing through a bone bruise in his hand that he suffered on April 13 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun. It would help explain why Ward only has one home run in his first 148 at-bats with Baltimore this year. Since April 13, the 32-year-old veteran right-handed hitter has gone 18-for-85 (.212) with one homer, four doubles, four RBI, 19 runs scored, and a steal. However, he is drawing walks at a nice rate, drawing 31 walks while striking out 17 times. Overall, Ward is slashing .264/.424/.378 with an .802 OPS, 12 RBI, and 27 runs scored in his 148 at-bats. He says that his hand injury has healed now, so hopefully we'll start to see an uptick in power production from the former first-round pick in 2015 out of Fresno State. Ward is currently in the 83rd percentile for xwOBA, but he's in just the 28th percentile in hard-hit rate. We'll be watching closely to see if his hard-hit rate starts to creep up with better health. Fantasy managers may want to consider buying low on the right-handed power bat.
Source: The Baltimore Sun - Matt Weyrich
Source: The Baltimore Sun - Matt Weyrich
