Not your typical catcher, AquaSox’s Harry Ford is Mariners’ top prospect

Published 1:30 am Thursday, April 6, 2023

Harry Ford can still remember the first time he donned the “tools of ignorance.”

Ford was 9 years old and at a tryout for his first year in kid-pitch baseball. The team didn’t have a catcher and Ford, who’d played primarily third base to that point in his baseball journey, volunteered to strap on the chest protector and shin guards and don the mask.

“I remember exactly how it was,” Ford recalled. “It was great. It was just something I never thought I could be or never thought would be fun. But I loved it.”

Ford has been a catcher ever since, despite the fact his athletic profile is unconventional for a player who squats behind the plate. But his unique speed and athleticism for a catcher are reasons why Ford is the most exciting prospect on the Everett AquaSox’s roster — the Sox open their 2023 Northwest League season against the Eugene Emeralds at 7:05 p.m. Friday night at Funko Field — and why Ford is considered the next big thing in the Seattle Mariners organization.

Ford is the consensus No. 1 prospect in the Mariners minor-league system. The 20-year-old from Kennesaw, Georgia, was selected 12th overall in the first round of the 2021 draft. Last season, his first full season in the professional ranks, Ford triple-slashed a promising .274/.425/.438 in 104 games for Modesto of the Single-A California League. He’s ranked by MLB.com as the 49th-best prospect in all of baseball and No. 64 by Baseball America. And despite still being in the low minors Ford, whose parents are from Great Britain, starred for the British at the World Baseball Classic in March.

But Ford isn’t your typical catcher. His 5-foot-10, 200-pound frame may seem like standard measurements for a backstop, but he’s a lithe and nimble body type rather than a squat one. And Ford can fly. He grades out as a 60 runner on the baseball-scouting 20-80 scale, and he stole 23 bases for Modesto last season. His profile is more like an outfielder than a catcher. But catching is the only thing Ford’s wanted to do.

“I just liked the amount of action I got,” Ford said about what drew him to the position. “Getting to be in on every pitch, that was my favorite part.”

Though Ford’s physical attributes aren’t typical of a catcher, there are ways in which his speed and athleticism are useful behind the plate.

“With his athleticism, he has the ability to get into different stances and move around to block baseballs, and then get on his feet really well,” said Sox manager Ryan Scott, a former catcher himself who worked with Ford last season as part of the Modesto coaching staff. “There’s the ability to move around and be an athlete when he throws, so he can make athletic throws from weird stances after he blocks a ball. He can just be himself and not get into the straight mechanics mode of trying to be a perfectly-formed catcher, he can just be an athlete and let his body work the way it’s going to work.”

And most importantly, Ford possesses the mental and communication skills that are necessary for a good catcher, and the catcher is the player who has the greatest responsibility for handling pitchers.

“When you meet him and get to talk to him, he’ll care about you as a person more than anyone else,” said Scott, who raved about Ford’s personality traits before ever mentioning his baseball skills. “It’s not something you see a lot, especially from kids who have had the spotlight on them.

“He’s able to have those conversations and relate to a pitching staff,” Scott added. “The pitchers understand that when Harry shows up to the field every day there’s going to be no surprises, they know who he’s going to be. He’s going to go back there and work his tail off for those pitchers every single day.”

There’s been chatter about whether Ford’s long-term future is behind the plate, that with his physical gifts he may be better suited to another position. The natural comparison is to Craig Biggio, who reached the majors as a speedy catcher, but was quickly switched to second base and went on to a Hall of Fame career. Ford himself admitted that there are times when he curtails his baserunning because of tired legs from catching.

But Scott said Ford will be used exclusively as a catcher this season. Ford will also serve as the designated hitter on most nights when he’s not behind the plate.

And Scott has one goal for Ford this season: “Keep him healthy, that’s the biggest thing, keeping him on the field. When he’s on the field he’ll be great.”

Short hops

In addition to Ford, Everett has four other players ranked in MLB.com’s top 30 Mariners prospect on its opening-night roster. The others are corner infielder Tyler Locklear (10th), outfielder Jonatan Clase (12th), shortstop Axel Sanchez (15) and outfielder Alberto Rodriguez (27). … Rodriguez (.261, 10 homers, 46 RBI), infielder James Parker (.219, 13 homers, 49 RBI) and catcher Charlie Welch (.211, nine homers, 32 RBI) are the position players on the roster who played prominent roles on last year’s team. … Right-hander Juan Mercedes will be Friday’s opening-night starter. Mercedes was 7-8 with a 4.51 ERA, walking 30 and striking out 124 in 107.2 innings for the Sox last season, including a seven-inning no-hitter. … Other pitchers back who threw at least 30 innings for Everett last season are right-handers Logan Rinehart (3.98 ERA, 23 walks and 69 strikeouts in 54.1 innings), Luis Curvelo (4.82 ERA, 28 walks and 57 strikeouts in 52.1 innings), Michael Flynn (7.50 ERA, 13 walks and 33 strikeouts in 36.0 innings), Kyle Hill (2.51 ERA, 18 walks and 41 strikeouts in 32.1 innings) and Tim Elliott (10.45 ERA, 10 walks and 40 strikeouts in 31.0 innings) and left-hander Peyton Alford (5.87 ERA, 20 walks and 51 strikeouts in 30.2 innings).