ON Top 50 Prospects 2013 – #33: Brian Ward

[Jordan Tuwiner]

http://orioles-nation.com/2012/12/24/to ... rian-ward/

Brian Ward was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2009. Ward has always been known for his outstanding defense, but his offense output in 2011 is what has really put him on the prospect map.

Ward played at Frederick for all of 2010, but returned there for once again for all of 2011. His power numbers jumped and he dramatically improved his walk rate.

2013 Top 50 List
33. Brian Ward
34. Jaime Esquivel
35. Matt Taylor
36. Tyler Townsend
37. Caleb Joseph
38. Mark Blackmar
39. Sebastian Vader
40. Matt Price
41. Oliver Drake
42. Hector Veloz
43. Wynston Sawyer
44. Matt Bywater
45. Ryan Berry
46. Tyler Kelly
47. Zach Clark
48. Mychal Givens
49. Ashur Tolliver
50. Brady Wager

[ofahn]

As I posted in another thread Brian will be playing in AA at age 27, which means that he needs to see significant improvement with the bat since he is probably at the apex of his skills curve.

If Teagarden were to be unavailable I believe that Ward could fill him for him on a short term basis, but if he wants to be considered a legit ML backup he's going to need to be able to produce at a .650 OPS in the majors. That would translate to at least .100 points higher in AA and he's not there yet.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

How would you compare Ward's defense to Wieters' defense?

Wieters is on a different level. More arm strength, more accuracy, better at blocking, better at calling games. It's not really close but you could even say that if you compared a lot of MLB catchers to Wieters.