With the 26th overall pick, and the last in the first round, the Angels have taken Fresno State catcher Taylor Ward.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I think I'm the high guy on Angels pick Taylor Ward. 68th on my board, big numbers, good receiver, 70 arm, athletic, swing just alright.</p>— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) <a href="https://twitter.com/kileymcd/status/608086219717779457">June 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Ward was not projected as a first rounder, but the Angels got their man, and were shown celebrating in their war room after the Orioles made their selection. According to Baseball America's draft profile, he "earns consistent plus grades and 65s from teams that use the 20-80 scale, as his throws are accurate and true. He's thrown out 37 percent of base stealers this season after nabbing 40 percent in 2014".
Ward profiles as an all around athletic player, who's arm strength would put him on the mound if he didn't have the bat to go along with it; and could shift to a pitching role should he fail to produce offensively. He's hit just 13 combined home runs in the last two seasons, and in his career at Fresno hit .290/.417/.495.
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