Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward had won the American League Player of the Week Award for the week of May 19 through May 25, Major League Baseball announced on May 27.
In that span, Ward had a .407 batting average with three home runs, four doubles and 12 runs batted in. He also racked up a 1.382 OPS and set a franchise record with extra-base hits in 10 straight games, a record Darrin Erstad previously set at nine straight contests back in 1998.
His league-best week of offensive production gave the Angels a massive winning boost, helping them to a 5-2 record on the week including a four-game sweep of the Athletics.
Ward joined the national pregame show “MLB Tonight” on MLB Network before the Angels’ 3-2 loss to the Yankees last night to discuss the award. He said the key to his offensive streak has been a mechanical adjustment that has helped him time his swings better.
“Just staying in there better, reading the pitch better, and being able to hit multiple pitches in multiple zones,” Ward said.
Taylor Ward Won This Award Once Before – Back in 2022
On May 2, 2022, Ward was awarded the American League Player of the Week award for the first time for his performance between the dates of April 24-30, 2022.
Ward had similar numbers to this past week, batting .448 with 4 home runs, 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
2022 was something of a breakout season for Ward, who crushed 23 home runs and recorded a 3.5 bWAR in 135 games.
If Ward continues his hot hitting – he’s on pace for more than 40 home runs – he will blow that season out of the water. He set a career high of 25 home runs last season, and it appears that he may surpass that before the season is even halfway over, if he stays healthy and keeps hitting.
Keeping up that All-Star pace would likely earn him plenty more award consideration before the season’s end.
Ward, Logan O’Hoppe are One of MLB’s Best Offensive Duos Thus Far
While Taylor Ward leads the Angels with 15 homers, his teammate – Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe – is right behind him with 14 home runs of his own. There are only two other pairs of teammates with 14+ home runs so far in 2025. Corbin Carroll and Eugenio Suarez have formed one such duo for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Chicago Cubs teammates Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki are the other – Suzuki happens to be the National League Player of the Week award winner alongside Ward in the AL.
The Angels have been on a power-hitting tear as a team to open the season with 79 home runs, the third-most in the MLB. That includes 38 homers in the month of May, which is best in baseball.
The hitting has been somewhat streaky however, and the Angels’ pitching staff has stumbled to a 4.92 earned run average, sixth-worst in the MLB.
The Angels hope for better pitching results and more sustained hitting to help end their four-game losing streak and climb out of fourth place in the American League West, where they are 5.5 games back of the first-place Seattle Mariners.
Angels Star Wins 2nd MLB Award After 3-Year Drought