Anaheim Angels prospects Jones and Ward switching gears

When the Anaheim Angels drafted Jahmai Jones in the second round of the June Amateur Draft out of Wesleyan High School in tiny Norcross, Georgia they thought thy had an outfielder for the future.

Jahmai Jones has done well so far in his 2.5 seasons in the Anaheim Angels farm system but with the Angels having three outfielders in place for at least for the next three seasons at least, Jones’ path to the majors temporarily blocked.

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However, a position the Angels do not have much depth at in the minors is second base.  With Ian Kinsler only signed for this season there could be a long-term opening at this spot, so Jahmai Jones has been moved from the outfield to second base.

This move is not only be done to possibly help Jons advancement and fill a potential hole the Angels have, it is in large part due to Jones deficiencies in the outfield mainly on defense.  Jones also has previous experience in high school at second base which makes him a prime candidate for this transistion.

Jones has been assigned to the Single-A Inland Empire 66’ers where he finished up strong last season hitting .302 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 41 games.  Jones will be the starting second baseman for the 66’ers when they start their season on Thursday against the San Jose Bees.

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Jones is the second top-prospect to switch positions in the past week as catcher Taylor Ward has switched to third base this season in hopes of advancing up the ranks to the majors.  Ward was the Angels first round pick in 2015 and was considered a very strong defensive catcher out of Fresno State University, who also possessed some good power.

Ward has been solid defensively with a cannon for an arm, but has struggled at the plate at times and also battled some injuries.  He is hoping to take the next step to Triple-A and then on to the majors. Ward has hit .272 with 22 homers and 156 RBIs and a .366 OBP.  Ward will start the year in Double-A for the Mobile Bay Bears.

Next: Angels vs. Indians important series for the team

We will see how these two moves will help Jahmai Jones and Taylor Ward possibly make the eventual jump to the majors.