Taylor Ward
- Free agent est. 2 yr × $9.2M ($4M–$18M) · +0.7 wins to Pittsburgh’s Winter Plan as its LF starter
- PNC Park Pittsburgh’s home park: −2.0 runs per 600 PA against an average park (−0.19 wins over 570 PA; his WAR leaves this out); home runs ×0.78 (×0.77 for right-handed hitters as a group). Park Fit →
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 606 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 192 | .328 | .351 | 21% | 17% | 17% | +1.51 | 0.00 |
| RHP | 414 | .318 | .327 | 22% | 16% | 14% | +1.41 | −0.58 |
- Attack angle
- 6.6° (47% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- −0.3°
- Swing length
- 6.9 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 3%
- Pull-air %
- 12.1%
- Hard-hit %
- 38.5%
- Slash · wRC+
- .225/.359/.311 · 102
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage up and in (+2.0 vs. league per 100; 1.0 standard errors on 102 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest down over the middle (−4.5; 2.4 standard errors below average on 145 pitches). Pitchers should attack here.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average RHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 2,304 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Ward: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | J.P. Crawford SEA · ’95 | .320 | 1.2 | 1.2 | Free agent |
| 44 | Austin Martin MIN · ’99 | .301 | 0.9 | 0.8 | Pre-arb |
| 43 | Edouard Julien COL · ’99 | .340 | −0.8 | −0.6 | — |
| 43 | Gleyber Torres DET · ’96 | .325 | 1.0 | 1.1 | Free agent |
| 37 | Andrew Vaughn MIL · ’98 | .329 | 1.3 | 0.6 | Arb |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | RF | −1 | −1 | 0.0 | −1.0 | 488 |
| 2026 | LF | −1 | 0 | +0.2 | +0.2 | 3,378 |
| 2025 | LF | 0 | 0 | −2.3 | −2.3 | 5,831 |
| 2024 | LF | +4 | +4 | +0.5 | +4.5 | 5,344 |
| 2023 | 1B | −1 | −1 | +0.2 | −0.8 | 13 |
| 2023 | LF | +3 | +3 | −1.8 | +1.2 | 3,435 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At LF in 2026, the biggest loss came back (−2 outs): a coaching target.
Tools (percentile; arm among LFs)| Play | Made | Chances | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★★ | 0 | 19 | 0% |
| ★★★★ | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| ★★★ | 1 | 7 | 14% |
| ★★ | 12 | 13 | 92% |
| ★ | 26 | 28 | 93% |
| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | RF | 44 | +0.5 |
| 2026 | LF | 320 | −0.5 |
| 2025 | LF | 577 | −0.4 |
| 2024 | LF | 563 | −8.7 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
A pending free agent: no club controls his 2027. Contract Studio →
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant