American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In today’s edition, This Week in the Association and Minor League Sports Report name Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks outfielder Drew Ward the American Association Player of the Week for Week 4.

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Outfielder Drew Ward Named Player of the Week

On Monday, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report named Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks outfielder Drew Ward as the American Association Player of the Week for Week 4 of the 2022 season. Ward had an incredible week, hitting .474 with four home runs and 13 RBI.

The RedHawks started off the week with a three-game series against Sioux Falls Canaries, and Ward was impressive, going 5-10 with three runs scored, two homers, and five RBI. He was 0-2 in the opening contest of the series, but walked twice and scored a run in a 4-1 victory. In the second game of the series, the outfielder had a 4-5 performance, scoring a run and hitting his first homerun of the week. Ward drove in four, which proved to be pivotal in the 9-8 victory. In the final contest of the series, the RedHawks outfielder was 1-3, with his only hit being his eighth homerun of the year. Ward walked four times in the series.

Next, the team welcomed the Lake Country DockHounds, and Ward continued his impressive week, going 4-9 with three runs scored, two homeruns, and eight RBI. In the opener, Ward went 1-3 with an RBI, walking three times in a 16-10 loss. In the second game, he was 2-4, scoring two runs, adding a double and a homerun. He drove in five runs in that contest, a 14-3 victory over the DockHounds. Ward closed out the week with a 1-2 performance, hitting his fourth homerun of the week and driving in two.

Drew Ward drove in runs in each of the final five games of the week and was a combined 9-19 with six runs scored, a double, four homeruns, 13 RBI, and seven walks. His .474 batting average was second best in the league, but he led in on-base percentage (.621), slugging (1.158), and OPS (1.779).

Ward is in his second season with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, playing with the team in 2020 when he led the league with a .335 batting average. Last year he appeared in 78 games for the Detroit Tigers AA team in Erie, hitting .240 with 16 homers. In 800 minor league games, Ward hit .254 with 89 homers and 437 RBI.

The RedHawks outfielder is second in the league in batting average (.378) and is one behind the league leaders in homeruns with 10. He is fifth in RBI with 28.

2022 American Association Players of the Week

Week 1 – Keon Barnum, Milwaukee Milkmen
Week 2 – Jan Hernandez, Kansas City Monarchs
Week 3 – Dylan Kelly, Milwaukee Milkmen

By Robert Pannier