Harry Ford’s First Season was strong | Daily News Byte

The Georgia native is among the top 15 in the Cal League in three Triple Crown statistics: Ford’s .274 batting average is good for 12th best in the league, his .425 OBP is fourth, and his .439 SLG is 15th highest. It shows how he became one of the league’s best offensive players during his 2022 campaign.

Fangraphs and Prospects Live give Ford a future 50 hit tool and a future 55 power projection. MLB Pipeline has him as a future 55 hit tool and future 50 power. All three sites have Ford as the Mariners current number one prospect, as well as Jason A. Churchill.

While Ford doesn’t have much future potential, he projects to be both a solid offensive contributor as well as a good defender. Ford splits his time in 2022 roughly 50-50 between catcher and DH. He played 54 games behind the dish and 49 as the Nuts’ designated hitter. The consensus is that Ford will be an average or better defender behind the plate with a higher arm.

If Ford can’t stick behind the plate, he has enough athleticism to move to another position. When he was drafted, the Mariners’ official press release had Ford as a catcher/outfielder, so the Mariners obviously had to believe he could play in the outfield if he had to move from catching.

Although Ford is the consensus top prospect in Seattle’s system, the former first-round pick ranks highest on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, coming in at No. 65. Prospects Live became the No. 79 in their Top 100 after the 2022 trade deadline, and he’s just outside of Fangraphs’ Top 100.

The 19-year-old will likely start the year at High-A Everett. Since he’ll be playing next season at age 20, he’s unlikely to be a breakout prospect, and is more likely to get a full season playing for the Aqua Sox.

Mariners Minor League Transactions
The Mariners signed 27-year-old RHP Jose Rodriguez who spent last season in the New York Mets organization, playing for their Triple-A affiliate. He started 11 games and came out of the bullpen in 18, totaling 76.1 innings. The 6-foot-2 Venezuelan has a 4.95 ERA and has struck out 68 while walking 36. He has been assigned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers roster, and will likely be a bullpen arm for them, and has a chance to be an emergency call-up to the best.

Mariners Minor Leaguer in the News
The MLB Pipeline team wrote about one prospect from each team that could be selected in the Rule 5 Draft, and Seattle is a hard throwing reliever.

Daniel Kramer spotlights top prospect Harry Ford for his charity work and for giving back to the community.