In perhaps any other organization, we would have been talking about Harry Ford making his Major League debut quite some time ago. The three-time Futures Game participant has been performing in Triple-A, is No. 4 on the Mariners’ Top 30 Prospects list list, No. 40 on the Top 100 and trails only Samuel Basallo on the catching list. There really wasn’t anything more for him to prove as a prospect, at least not at the plate.
The end of May could have been a good time for Ford’s big league callup. He had just hit .411 with a 1.120 OPS for the month. He could have joined his organization-mate Cole Young, who he had roomed with in the Minors. Young made his debut on May 31, but Ford remained with Triple-A Tacoma. Of course, the one thing Young had that Ford did not was an opportunity. The Mariners needed some help at second base and Young was ready to step in. Ford might have been ready to take on a big league role, but not with Cal Raleigh standing in his way.
Raleigh continues to add to his MVP-candidate resume, and while Ford would be an offensive upgrade over Mitch Garver, winning teams like to have veteran backstops in that No. 2 catcher role. The Mariners didn’t have Ford working at other positions, save eight games in left field in 2024 while with Double-A Arkansas, with the organization making the decision to keep having him work on his defensive craft behind the dish.
Ford is with the team in Tampa and ready to get his feet wet while trying to help Seattle reach the postseason. What role he plays remains to be seen, but having three catchers on the roster does provide a little flexibility, and Dan Wilson has used both Raleigh and Garver in the lineup at the same time without the Ford-provided insurance on the bench. But now Wilson can mix-and-match more if he likes, with Ford also providing a right-handed bat with some thump and surprising speed off the bench.
Since the Mariners took Ford with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 Draft, he’s been one of the youngest hitters at every level. Until this year, his production hadn’t quite matched his potential, but you knew it was in there and that he’d start tapping into his raw power more effectively, start using his super-advanced approach to get better pitches to hit and to then drive them more consistently.
All of that started happening this season, when he reached Triple-A for the first time. He’s still very much an on-base machine, with his .408 OBP this season the third-best in the Pacific Coast League, a number right on par with his career .405 mark. He’s drawn 339 walks in his four seasons of pro ball, the second most among all Minor Leaguers. He does all of it without swinging and missing all that much — his 24 percent miss rate this season is down a touch from previous seasons — and he isn’t prone to chasing (21 percent chase rate in 2025; 19 percent over the last three years combined, all per Synergy). So when and if Ford gets opportunities down the stretch, he’s going to see a lot of pitches, he’s going to get on base, and he has the chance to do damage from the right side of the plate.
Most of Ford’s power is to his pull side, but he can drive the ball to all fields with a simple setup mechanically at the plate. And if he gets on base, he can run, though he hasn’t been the threat to steal this year (seven stolen bases) that he has been in the past (35 SB in 2024, 20+ in his previous three seasons).
Ford is still a work in progress behind the plate, though he’s tried hard to improve in all facets of his defensive game. His athleticism and agility play well, and he exhibits strong leadership skills. Spend any time with Ford and you’ll immediately get the strong sense that he’s serious about his craft on both sides of the ball, and he loves to learn. Both during his Futures Game appearances and in his 2023 stint in the Arizona Fall League, he would spend a lot of time around the cage, watching other people hit and how they went about their business.
That might be the trait that serves Ford the best over this next month with the Mariners. Even if he doesn’t make a start behind the dish and his at-bats are sporadic, he will undoubtedly be a sponge that soaks up knowledge for when he’s given a shot to be a big league regular in 2026.
