Ward Selected as Pacific Coast League All-Star
SALT LAKE CITY (June 26, 2019) - Salt Lake Bees outfielder Taylor Ward was selected as a 2019 Pacific Coast League All-Star, as announced by the PCL today.
SALT LAKE CITY (June 26, 2019) - Salt Lake Bees outfielder
Ward, 25, is in his second season with Salt Lake and was originally drafted by the Angels in the first round (26th overall) in the 2015 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Fresno State University. A former catcher, Ward transitioned to third base last season and has added left field to his repertoire in 2019. At the plate this season Ward enters Thursday with a .300 batting average and .430 on base percentage and ranks in the top 10 in the PCL in on base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and walks drawn. Ward has a career-high 16 home runs this season which ranks second on the Bees.
The Indio, California native made his Major League debut on August 14, 2018 with the Angels collecting a pair of hits against the Padres. Ward also launched a walk-off home run for the Halos on the final game of the 2018 season to beat Oakland and has appeared in six games for the Angels this season.
Ward becomes the 37th Triple-A All-Star in franchise history and will be joined in El Paso by Bees pitching coach Pat Rice who was named tot he All-Star coaching staff last week. Other notable Salt Lake All-Stars include
The 32nd Annual Triple-A All-Star Game will be held at Southwest University Park, home of the El Paso Chihuahuas on Wednesday, July 10. The game will be broadcast national on MLB Network beginning at 7 p.m. MT and will also be available online at MiLB.tv, MLBNetwork.com and on the MiLB First Pitch app.
The Bees have three games remaining in their current homestand against the Reno Aces with first pitch coming at 7:05 at Smith's Balllpark on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night. After a brief road trip to Tacoma, Salt Lake returns home to celebrate Independence Day weekend with fireworks shows following the games on July 4, 5 and 6. Tickets and more information is available at www.slbees.com.
--slbees.com--
About the Salt Lake Bees
The Salt Lake Bees are in their 19th season as the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels and will continue to be the top affiliate of the Angels through the 2022 season. While with Los Angeles, Salt Lake owns five division championships and two trips to the Pacific Coast League Finals. Smith's Ballpark, the home of the Bees, is consistently voted as one of the best ballparks in baseball, including a Top 10 Ballpark in the United States by Better Homes and Gardens. In 2015 the Bees were awarded the Bob Freitas Award by Baseball America as the top franchise in Triple-A. For more information visit www.slbees.com.