Thad Ward 'feels good to be valued' by Nationals after being Rule 5'd from Red Sox
Roberto Clemente. Johan Santana. Christy Mathewson. Josh Hamilton. Jose Bautista. Shane Victorino, Dan Uggla. R.A. Dickey.
What do all of those names have in common? They were all selected in the major league portion of the MLB Rule 5 Draft.
Every December, the MLB holds the Rule 5 Draft. If a team does not have a full 40-man roster, they are eligible to pick players in the Rule 5 Draft. That is exactly what the Washington Nationals did when they selected Red Sox pitcher Thad Ward with the first overall pick in the 2022 Rule 5 draft.
“Everything happened pretty fast.” Ward said looking back at being selected. “It went from one minute I was in Double-A Portland and the next minute I am trying to make an MLB team out of Spring Training. That was obviously my first time having to experience that. It all happened really quickly but I have been nothing but thankful for the opportunities the Nationals have given me. It has been really nice that they put a lot of faith in me. It showed that they valued me in the organization and wanted me. When I got the call that I was a Rule 5 pick, I was very excited about it. It has been a very long journey, but it has been a lot of fun.”
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Ward got to skip Triple-A altogether after being selected, as the Nationals had to keep him on their MLB roster all year or offer him back to the Red Sox. The right-hander noticed a big difference between preparing for a season to go to Double-A, and one to go into a major league bullpen.
“It has been a lot different, especially not being with the Red Sox anymore.” Ward said of preparing in Spring Training. “It is a good feeling having my team value me and tells me a lot about my stuff and what their plan for me in the future is. Spring Training has been very different which I am very thankful for. It has been a great experience over here.”
The Fort Myers native was the 5th round choice by the Red Sox in the 2018 draft. While most of the selections are no longer with the franchise that drafted them, there are a few names who have had some MLB success that Ward is keeping an eye on.
“You always love to see guys who you got drafted with and guys you came up with succeed.” Ward said of his draft classmates. “It’s good to see them get rewarded for the things that they have earned. Coming out of the draft, Triston Casas and Jarren Duran were some of the best hitters I have ever seen. They kept proving it all through the minor league system and now are up in the majors doing their thing. You feel really happy for them and proud because you know their work ethic and how hard they worked to get there and hope to continue to stay there.”
While Ward skipped Triple-A for the 2023 season after spending the whole year in the Nationals bullpen, he was optioned to Triple-A to begin the 2024 season where he has started 11 games so far for Rochester. There have been highs and lows, but Ward has won his last three starts he has made and is looking to build off of those heading towards the middle of the season.
“It has been a little up and down.” Ward said of his season. “When I have been good, I have been really good. When I have struggled, I have really struggled. The command has been at the fore front of those struggles. As long as I am throwing strikes, things have been going well for me. When I am good about throwing strikes, I am throwing a lot of strikes and quality pitches. When I am not throwing strikes, they are not quality. It has been very back and forth. I have been doing a lot of work with the pitching coach to nail down some things I have struggled with early to trend in the right direction.”
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Ward last season in the majors, as he put up a 6.37 ERA over 26 games he appeared in. However, as a member of the Nationals 40-man roster, Ward is just a few more good outings away from climbing back up to the majors and taking what he learned from his hardships last season.
“The biggest learning experience from the major leagues is you have to throw strikes.” Ward said. “Sometimes in the minor leagues, you can get away with not being in the zone consistently and getting into deep counts. Up in the big leagues, you get absolutely punished for it. That is what happened to me. When I got behind in counts, I got punished for it. When I was ahead in counts, it typically went well for me. The talent and process are better up there so you have to throw strikes and get ahead of guys because when you get behind you get really punished for it.”
