Harry Ford, Seattle Mariners.
For the first time in Jerry Dipoto’s career as a General Manager (GM), he drafted a high school player in the first round. There was some shock after Rob Manfred stepped up to the microphone and said, “with the 12th pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft, the Seattle Mariners select Harry Ford, catcher, North Cobb High School, Ackworth, Georgia.”
Who? Who did the Mariners take in Round 1? A catcher, wait, they didn’t draft a college pitcher? Nope.
For the last three years, the Mariners have taken right-handed college hurlers in the first round. This was the fifth draft for Dipoto as Seattle’s GM and the first one where he didn’t take a college player in the first round period. Or should that be a question mark?
Actually, as a Major League GM, Dipoto never drafted a high school player in the first round, ever. His first crack at the draft as a GM was in 2014 with the Angels. That year, he selected lefty pitching prospect Sean Newcomb from the University of Hartford. In 2015, it was Taylor Ward, an outfielder from Cal-State Fresno. A quick note, Dipoto became LAA’s General Manager after the 2011 season; the Angels didn’t have first-round picks in either 2012 or 2013.
Until 2021, it’s been all college players for Dipoto in Seattle. That means it’s been seven seasons since the M’s drafted a prep player in the first round. Who could blame them after their poor track record with high school prospects over the past quarter-century? Ah, but Harry Ford is different. He’s the kind of athlete and prospect who shatters pre-conceived notions.
It would seem that the Mariners used all of their first-round high school pick mojo on Ken Griffey Jr. and A-Rod. It’s
He wasn’t terrible but wasn’t amazing either. Meche eventually made an All-Star game with Kansas City. With the Mariners, he only had two fully healthy seasons out of six, and he never materialized as a dominating pitcher.
In 1999, MLB ranked Ryan Anderson as the game’s top pitching prospect. Billed as Little Unit because a 6-10, he stood as tall as Randy Johnson and threw like him, but younger Anderson was on the verge of a breakout. Then he got injured, was out of baseball for four years. Anderson hung up his heater after the 2005 season.
The Mariners had a good run on catchers up to that point with David Valle (second round), Dan Wilson, and Jason Varitek. Before the 2000 season, Christianson was named to the MLB top 100 prospects list. His opportunity to get to The Show never materialized, and he topped out at Triple-A.
Not Nomar reached Triple-A Tacoma in 2006 after struggling with the bat for much of the first five years of his professional life. Pro ball didn’t pan out as well for the younger Garciaparra as it did for his older brother.
Mayberry opted to go to Stanford instead of signing with the Seattle Mariners. Three years later, Texas selected him with the 19th pick.
Jones became one of the most successful first-round high school picks by the Mariners. Unfortunately, the five-time All-Star had his best years in other places. He played only two seasons for the Seattle Mariners (2006 and 2007) and amassed a .230 batting average with 32 hits in 73 games. Jones won four Gold Gloves and even finished in sixth in the 2012 MVP voting. That year, he played all 162 games for Baltimore, hit 32 home runs, had a .839 OPS, and scored over 100 runs.
Franklin retired in 2019 with a .214 batting average after playing 301 Major League games. Ten years earlier, he was the second of Seattle’s three first-round picks (Dustin Ackley was the 2nd overall pick). In the minor leagues showed power and speed and was a slick fielder. He played one full(ish) season in the bigs with the Mariners and managed a .225 batting average and .686 OPS. It was all downhill from there.
In 26 Big League at-bats, Baron has three hits and an RBI with 10 Ks. The catcher managed to split all those at-bats with three different big league teams. He’s still kicking around professional baseball. He spent 2020 at the Indians’ alternate site.
Walker was barely a first-round pick, if that. Still, the two-time Seattle Mariners pitcher is putting together a decent career. While Walker endured some injury stuff, he’s having a good 2021 with the Mets.
The 6-2, 210-pound outfielder might replace Ronald Acuna Jr. in the second half of Atlanta’s season. Jackson is only 25-years-old made cameos for the Braves in each of the last three seasons. However, he has never hit for average (.269 in 2021 at Triple-A in only 67 at-bats is his highest).
That brings us to Harry Ford, not to be confused with 79-year-old Harrison Ford. MLB scouting ranked Ford, a catcher, as the #19 overall prospect in the draft class. So he was a small reach in terms of value left on the board. Ford, however, doesn’t project out as a Major League catcher. His speed lends him more towards outfield or maybe in second base. Here is my scouting report after doing some quick research on the kid out of Cobb County, Georgia.
Harold Reynolds, former Mariner 2nd baseman and MLB Network Contributor/Reporter, called him the next Russell Martin with speed, defense, and gap-to-gap power. Dan O’Dowd, former Rangers GM and MLB Network Contributor, said that he could end up being more like Craig Biggio with offensive tools that will require a move to second base or the outfield.
During a Perfect Game (PG) All-American baseball event, he hit 7 home runs. His open low backside set-up at the plate reminds me of Hall-of-Famer Jeff Bagwell but in a smaller frame. He also keeps his hands low and has a long stride that allows him to keep the barrel of the bat in action for a longer period of time. His hands are fast to the zone as well. That creates maximum lag with the barrel of the bat through the zone.
If this evaluation were based on position, he would easily be the fastest catcher available in the draft. Even without that consideration, he is one of the fastest players taken in the first round. Thinking of fast catchers, the first one that comes to mind is Jason Kendall, who was a three-time All-Star. Kendall had 189 career stolen bases in his 15-year career. Also, Russell Martin, especially early on in his career.
The concern with speed from a catcher is that it’s not something that will last. Most catchers lose their speed as the seasons roll by due to the physical demands of the position unless they move to another position, just like Craig Biggio. After three seasons behind the plate, Biggio moved to second base after the 1991 season.
As most highly touted catchers would, Ford has a fantastic arm. His arm could be elite, though, especially considering his athleticism. It’s also another reason why his days at catcher might be numbered. His throwing accuracy needs the most improvement if he remains a catcher, but the velocity grades out really high.
For catchers, accuracy is at a premium, but range isn’t that big a deal. Should Ford move to the outfield or second base, then his range will play a much larger role in the field. In addition, it’s hard to grade a high school catcher much higher without knowing how he manages the day-to-day operations of a team. Understanding the nuances behind the plate is hard to pick up on in prep and travel leagues. Pitch framing and selection, finding holes in hitters swings using advanced scouting reports, Statcast, sabermetrics, aligning defenses, etc., are things he’ll have to learn.
Although not a typically scrutinized portion of a scouting report, Ford exhibits a very high IQ and is all-effort all of the time. He’ll grow into his frame, produce more power, and learn the ins and outs of baseball while he grows up in the minor leagues. His awareness is very strong throughout, and he’s demonstrated that while playing at the highest levels he could, all of the time.
Overall, while some will call Ford a reach and definitely an out-of-character pick for Dipoto, the young catcher has so much upside that it’s hard to believe he fell to the Mariners at 12. Seattle is a team that routinely misses with high school talent, but perhaps things will change with Ford.
The other thing to consider is that Dipoto will need to usher in multiple waves of talent as the Mariners get older to remain successful. With a 2024-25 time frame on the young catcher, he’ll arrive just in time for the final controllable years of Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez, Logan Gilbert, and the other prospects the Mariners intend on bringing up hit the open market.
Joe Swenson