Here’s the Mariners’ plan for top catching prospect Harry For
Harry Ford was direct: “I’m a catcher.”
Jerry Dipoto was, too: “He is a catcher.”
That settles it then, yeah?
Well, sort of.
The Mariners and their top catching prospect are in lockstep about Ford’s future, but there remains a mighty hurdle — Cal (Bleeping) Raleigh — in his pathway to a major-league call-up.
“It’s an awesome problem to have,” said Dipoto, the M’s president of baseball ops. “We have the best catcher in the world in the big leagues right now, and if we don’t have the best catching prospect in baseball, he’s one of them, sitting on the doorstep. He just happens to be in a position where the guy in front of him is on an MVP trajectory.”
Raleigh was tied for the major-league lead with 23 homers entering Tuesday and is putting together the best season by a catcher in MLB history. In March, he signed a six-year, $105-million extension (already the best bargain in baseball, perhaps?).
Raleigh is the Mariners’ catcher, now and for the foreseeable future.
So what is the Mariners’ plan with Harrison Michael Ford?
“You know, multiple catchers are required,” Dipoto said. “He’s 22 years old. He continues to perform and learn his lessons. I don’t know many teams that get through a season with two catchers very often. Help will be required at some point, and he’s putting himself in the conversation to get the opportunity when that happens.”
Ford, as one of the four youngest players in all of Triple-A, has been on a two-month tear with the Tacoma Rainiers, posting the fifth-best wRC+ (144) of any hitter in Triple-A through his first 190 plate appearances.
His .437 on-base percentage ranks second among all Triple-A players, and he’s hitting .325 with a .921 OPS.
“This is the best version of Harry’s swing that we’ve seen as a Mariner,” Dipoto said. “His swing is as smooth as we’ve ever seen it. His approach has always been whatever ’80’ [on the scouting scale] is — something beyond 80. His mentality, his thought process, and his pitch selection are elite.”
Ford and Cole Young have become good friends while climbing the Mariners system together the past three seasons. Young, 21, got his major-league promotion Saturday and will get a long runway to hold down the second-base job in Seattle
Ford, the Mariners’ 2021 first-round pick, could be next.
His immediate fit on the Mariners’ roster isn’t clear, though.
The Mariners asked Ford to try out another position last year in Double-A Arkansas, and he had a brief dalliance with left field (appearing in eight games out there).
It didn’t stick, and the Mariners haven’t broached the idea of moving Ford off catcher since then.
“I tried it out last year and haven’t talked about it since,” Ford said. “So, yeah, I guess catching is the plan. That’s my plan. I’m always gonna fight to catch. I can play outfield if, like, someone needs me to get out there, but I’m a catcher at heart.”
Dipoto views it the same way.
“It wasn’t a natural transition for him on those days [in the outfield],” Dipoto said. “And what we were really loathe to do — Harry’s been catching since he was 8 years old. He identifies as a catcher. He has catcher skills. We didn’t want to get jumpy because we had a 21-year-old who was transitioning into the pro game at a pace that, frankly, is normal for a 21-year-old, high-school catcher. And as they move toward the big leagues, you just need the reps [at catcher].”
The Los Angeles Dodgers called up their No. 1 prospect, catcher Dalton Rushing, two weeks ago. They designated for assignment their longtime backup catcher, Austin Barnes, to make room for Rushing, who has made a handful of starts as the backup to Will Smith, the NL’s best catcher.
Would the Mariners consider a similar move?
If they are, Dipoto isn’t tipping his hand.
Veteran catcher/designated hitter Mitch Garver hasn’t lived up to expectations since signing a two-year, $24-million free-agent deal before the 2024 season, but has been a useful backup this season, allowing Raleigh to start as the DH two times a week.
Short-term, Ford could force the Mariners’ hand this summer. Long-term, it’s easy to envision a Raleigh-Ford catching combination going into 2026.
