The Los Angeles Angels are shaping up to be a fun team to watch in 2022.
This team has young talent on their roster and also features perhaps the best two players in all of baseball, those being Mike Trout and two-way star Shohei Ohtani.
But the Angels may have another player on their roster with some exciting upside.
Outfielder Taylor Ward has had himself a week.
He managed to hit two home runs off of Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber on Monday, but he had himself another solid night on Wednesday.
Not only that, but he joined some elite company in the process.
Taylor Ward of the @Angels is the second MLB player in the modern era to have a double, a triple, a grand slam and 4+ runs scored in a single game.
The other was Roger Maris on August 3, 1958.
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) April 28, 2022
Ward Joins Maris In Elite Company
This is an amazing accomplishment.
To be only the second player in the modern era to have a game such as this is impressive.
Granted, to be in the same company as Roger Maris is an impressive feat in its own right.
Maris was obviously once the single-season home run king.
Ward may not be a household name, but if he has more nights like this, he will be sooner rather than later.
And what he accomplished last night is something that has not been accomplished since 1958.
Ward might just be the hottest hitter on the planet at the moment.
In just 38 at-bats, Ward is hitting .395 with four home runs and a 1.347 OPS.
Sure, it’s a small sample size, but Ward appears to be on track to rival the historic start of Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan.
Ward had eight home runs last season and he is already up to four to start 2022.
He’s red-hot and showing no signs of slowing down.
We’ll see what happens as the season progresses, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a hotter hitter in the game of baseball right now.
NEXT: The Angels Are Finally Acting Like A Contender