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Toronto Blue Jays prospect is having a truly bizarre season
Photo credit: Mark Steffens / Fotoguy Photography
Je'Von Ward currently tops the minors with a .460 on-base percentage, having appeared in 46 games and failing to reach base in just nine of them.
Yet, his batting average sits as only .217. That makes him a rare case: a hitter with the highest OBP in the minors, but also one of the lowest batting averages in the Northwest League, ranking eight-worst among qualified players.
Blue Jays' top prospect is having the strangest season.
J.J. Cooper from Baseball America writes that Ward has recorded 28 hits so far this season, but an eye-popping 58 walks. He's had six games with exaclty two hits, but none with more than that. Meanwhile, he's drawn two or more walks in 18 games, including six three-walk performances and even a four-walk game.
"He is the most patient/passive hitter in the minors. His 30.7% walk rate is by far the highest in the minors, as he's learned to give High-A pitchers very little credit when it comes to their strike-throwing ability. So far, they have rewarded him for his skepticism." -Cooper
Ward has essentially taken a toned-down version of Miguel Vargas' 2023 spring training experiment and applied it to real games. If you recall, Vargas was instructed not to swing during his first six spring games that year due to a finger injury, yet he still managed to draw four walks in 12 plate appearances, posting a .333 on-base percentage even while pitchers knew he wasn't going to swing.
"The only time Ward gets aggressive is when he gets into full counts. There, he swings 47% of the time, but he retains his batting eye, as he only chases out of the zone 13% of the time. In these counts, he's posting a .583 on-base percentage, as he's walked 26 times and gotten two hits in 48 plate appearances." -Cooper
Ward's approach probably won't translate as effectively at higher levels, and as a 2017 draft pick, he's now more of an organizational depth player. Still, at the High-A level, this strategy is helping him put together an exceptionally intriguing season.
Previously on Blue Jays Insider
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JUIN 18 | 937 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays prospect is having a truly bizarre season Does Blue Jays prospect Je'Von Ward have a future in the MLB? | ||
| yes | 597 | 63.7 % |
| no | 340 | 36.3 % |
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