Mayo: What Mariners prospect Harry Ford’s path to MLB is

Jun 13, 2025, 8:45 AM | Updated: 8:49 am

Seattle Sports

The next wave of Seattle Mariners prospects has started to hit the major leagues.

MLB Draft insider Mayo details Mariners’ options at No. 3 overall

It started with a lesser-known name when third baseman Ben Williamson was called up in early April. Then Logan Evans got his chance to become a big leaguer due to the pitching staff dealing with multiple injuries.

Those promotions were followed by the biggest one yet for the M’s in 2025, which was the call-up of top prospect Cole Young, a middle infielder ranked as the No. 40 prospect in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline.

There’s another big-time prospect knocking on the door for a major league promotion: catcher Harry Ford. However, Ford’s situation is a bit more complicated than the three names listed above.

MLB.com prospect analyst Jonathan Mayo discussed what Ford’s path to the big leagues is during Seattle Sports’ Extras Innings with Curtis Rogers on Thursday night.

Ford’s path to the majors

Ford, ranked as No. 5 prospect in the Mariners’ farm system and No. 63 overall, is having an impressive year in his first season with Triple-A Tacoma at 22 years old. The 2021 first-round pick is slashing .313/.427/.490 for a .917 OPS with 10 doubles, eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 50 games. He’s also walked 36 times, which nearly matches his 40 strikeouts.

That sort of offensive production from a catcher would warrant an MLB promotion from most teams, but that isn’t necessarily the case for the Mariners. They have MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh behind the plate already.

“He’s blocked behind the plate as of right now,” Mayo said of Ford.

Ford has the athleticism to play elsewhere and a small amount of experience in the outfield as a pro. He played left field for eight games with Double-A Arkansas last year, but hasn’t played the outfield in Triple-A this year. The Mariners have also been adamant about developing Ford as a catcher.

Mayo still sees playing positions other than catcher as a way to get the bat of Ford, who was a first-round MLB Draft pick in 2021 out of high school in Georgia, into the big league lineup.

“It’s hard to develop high school catching. It’s almost as risky as high school pitching just because there’s so much you have to learn behind the plate,” Mayo said. “I always give a lot of credit to Harry for his desire to prove to people that he can catch. I think he’s gotten good enough where he probably could (catch in MLB), but he’s also producing and impacting the ball more (on offense).

“So you’re going to want soon to find a way to get that bat into the lineup, and it may be that he is playing the outfield more and backing up behind the plate.”

If the Mariners were able to bring Ford up and play him in multiple positions, Mayo believes that could benefit the roster – specifically Raleigh.

“Cal Raleigh is not going to catch 160 games, and having a guy who can catch but also plays another position could let you carry three catchers potentially,” Mayo said. “And that could end up being a value for the Mariners at the big league level, because especially with the way Raleigh’s been swinging it, if you could slide him over and let him DH more often – not that you don’t want him to catch regularly, but just in terms of the reps and the wear and tear that comes with catching – maybe that’s something that they’re going to look at soon, especially with Ford swinging the bat as well as he has overall this year.”

If there isn’t a path to the majors for Ford that the Mariners feel comfortable with, Mayo does see another option.

“Teams need catching. You wonder if he is the kind of guy who becomes someone who could be available via trade,” Mayo said. “I wouldn’t just give away a guy like Harry Ford, but catching has a lot of value if people feel comfortable enough that he could be a big league regular behind the dish.”

Catch a new Extra Innings with Curtis Rogers from 7-9 p.m. every weekday during the baseball season when the Mariners have the day off from play.