Ford and Young

[D-train]

Can't wait to see what these guys can do in AA. I hope they start Young there even though he didn't have a lot of PAs in Everett.

Mariners top prospects Cole Young, Harry Ford could be on fast track to Seattle
Feb. 22, 2024 at 3:02 pm
Infielder Cole Young talks with his new Mariner teammates Tuesday in Arizona. The Seattle Mariners opened Spring Training for the full squad Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024 at the Peoria Sports Complex, in Peoria, AZ. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)

Infielder Cole Young talks with his new Mariner teammates Tuesday in Arizona. The Seattle Mariners opened Spring Training for the full squad Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024 at the Peoria Sports Complex, in Peoria, AZ. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
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Adam Jude By Adam Jude
Seattle Times staff reporter
PEORIA, Ariz. — The kids are going to play. They’re going to play a lot for the Mariners this spring.

That is a promise from Mariners manager Scott Servais, who hopes to see firsthand some of the immense promise he’s been hearing about surrounding the organization’s top hitting prospects.

When Cactus League play begins this weekend for the Mariners, shortstop Cole Young (No. 92), catcher Harry Ford (72), outfielder Jonatan Clase (85) and first baseman Tyler Locklear (87) will be wearing uniform numbers more often associated with NFL linemen.

But they have been invited to big-league camp for a reason, and they’re going to get a chance to show what they can do against some big-league regulars.

“They’re really good prospects,” Servais said, “and you want to give them exposure to this level as much as you can.”

After so much success drafting and developing college pitchers — Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, most notably — the Mariners made a strategic pivot to target young position players to replenish their system.

Catcher Harry Ford grabs a bottle of water between bullpen sessions Wednesday. The Seattle Mariners held Spring Training Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2023 at the Peoria Sports Complex, in Peoria, AZ. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)

Catcher Harry Ford grabs a bottle of water between bullpen sessions Wednesday. The Seattle Mariners held Spring Training Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2023 at the Peoria Sports Complex, in Peoria, AZ. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
That was particularly true during the MLB draft in Seattle last summer, when the Mariners had three first-round picks and used all three on left-handed high-school hitters (Colt Emerson, Jonny Farmelo and Tai Peete).

Of the Mariners’ top 11 prospects in Baseball America’s newest rankings, 10 are position players — and six are still teenagers.

The Mariners aren’t opposed to pushing their top hitting prospects aggressively up the ladder, and those players’ first chance to make an impression on a major-league coaching staff typically happens here during spring training.

Out of curiosity, Servais earlier this week made the walk out to the back fields at Peoria Sports Complex to watch some of the minor leaguers go through fielding drills.

“They’re young, obviously, but they’ve got a good look about ‘em,” Servais said. “There’s a pocket of about eight to 10 of them that are really interesting.”

The 20-year-old Young, a first-round pick in 2022, finished last season at High-A Everett, where he posted a .292/.404/.479 slash line (.883 OPS) with six homers, 14 doubles and two triples in 48 games.

In 606 plate appearances at two Class A affiliates, Young had nearly as many walks (96) as strikeouts (98) last season. He also had 22 steals (in 32 attempts).

“Young is a natural hitter with a sweet left-handed swing,” Baseball America wrote. “He has a fast, direct stroke with natural loft and consistently finds the barrel. He has exceptional hand-eye coordination and natural timing and is rarely fooled or caught off-balance.”

Young is the Mariners’ consensus top prospect, ranked in the top 100 by most industry publications.

Ford, who turned 21 on Wednesday, is also a top-100 prospect, and Emerson, still just 18, is one of baseball’s fastest-rising prospects after a torrid start to his pro career at the end of last summer. Felnin Celesten, an 18-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, missed most of last season with a hamstring injury, and there are many scouts who view Celesten as the most talented player in the Mariners’ system.

Young was home in the Pittsburgh area, playing NBA 2K on his Xbox, when he got an unexpected call last month from Justin Toole, the Mariners’ director of player development. Toole had some good news: Young was being invited to big-league camp for the first time.

“I had no idea,” Young said. “It was super exciting. I got super pumped up.”

Ford has joined him here for his second big-league camp. Young and Ford became fast friends when as roommates at Low-A Modesto in 2022, and they regularly hit 1-2 atop the AquaSox lineup in the second half of last season.

“His first two weeks up there [in Everett] were unbelievable. It seemed liked he was getting three hits every game,” Ford said Thursday. “He just has a real flat heartbeat. He just stays at one level, and I think that helps him in the box.”

Young, expected to make his Cactus League debut off the bench Saturday when the Mariners open the spring season against the White Sox in Glendale, has primarily played shortstop in the minors. But Servais said Young will spend time this spring at second base, a position some talent evaluators expected to be his long-term home.

“I think this guy could be a quick mover through our system,” Servais said of Young. “He’s just fundamentally very sound. Love his swing. He’s got a lot of adjustability to his swing, and eventually he’s going to grow into more power as well.”

Ford had 15 homers, 24 doubles, four triples, 109 strikeouts and 103 walks in 563 plate appearances for Everett last season. His .410 on-base percentage ranked No. 1 of any qualified catcher at every minor-league level last season.

He also has 50 stolen bases in 241 minor-league games.

Because of his athleticism, there had been some speculation that Ford could be moved off catcher at some point in his career — that his offensive profile would play well at second base or left field. Ford himself hasn’t completely ruled that out, but he has made clear where he wants to be.

“I’m a catcher,” he said. “I love catching. I want to be a catcher for as long as I can. But if my team needs me at another place down the road then, you know, I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do.”

Servais said he plans to have Ford start at catcher in some Cactus League games to give him experience working with veteran pitchers.

“He’s one of the best catching prospects in the game,” Servais said. “He’s a really interesting offensive player because he does an awesome job of controlling the strike zone. He just doesn’t swing at bad pitches. He’s got power in there. He’s got some things yet to develop, but he’s off to a good start and I don’t want to take that away. … I think he’s going to be a real threat as an offensive catcher.”

Mariners’ Top 10 prospects, via Baseball America:
1. Cole Young, 20, SS/2B

2. Harry Ford, 21, C

3. Colt Emerson, 18, SS

4. Lazaro Montes, 19, OF

5. Tyler Locklear, 23, 1B

6. Felnin Celesten, 18, SS

7. Jonny Farmelo, 19, OF

8. Michael Arroyo, 19, SS

9. Emerson Hancock, 24, RHP

10. Jonatan Clase, 21, OF

[D-train]

Young is only 5 months Younger than Ford but he hit better in Everett. Sounds like Harry wants to stick at Catcher. As I have said I think he needs to.

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Hopefully Ford will prove to be decent Major League material because Stanton will undoubtedly force Jerry to trade Cal away some time in the not too distant future for daring to criticize the organization.

[D-train]

Hopefully Ford will prove to be decent Major League material because Stanton will undoubtedly force Jerry to trade Cal away some time in the not too distant future for daring to criticize the organization.

Yep and I doubt Cal resigns here.

[GL_Storm]

I think Ford is our #1 prospect, ahead of both Young and Emerson.

[D-train]

I think Ford is our #1 prospect, ahead of both Young and Emerson.

You reside on an island with a population of 1.

I didn't think Ford was #1 when everyone else did. Now no "expert" does.

[GL_Storm]

I think Ford is our #1 prospect, ahead of both Young and Emerson.

You reside on an island with a population of 1.

I didn't think Ford was #1 when everyone else did. Now no "expert" does.

Baseball Prospectus has him at #1 and those guys are probably the most prospect-skeptical of any of the groups that evaluate prospects. For me, what started to sway me to put him above Young and Emerson is the athletic potential. I think the hit tool is average to plus, the power is developing, and his skills at catcher are reportedly improving. But the athletic potential is elite and if you look around the league at who the best players are, that's what you see a lot of. This is why every team is looking for 5-tool players.

Looking at Ford, Young, and Emerson as a group, I'll give the edge to Young and Emerson on the hit tool, but I think Harry at this point has both a higher floor and higher ceiling than Young or Emerson. He's more athletic and he's more advanced at a more difficult position than either of the others. But we'll see this year how he and Young do at AA, and maybe Emerson will get there as well.

[Lamda]

Don't really care what position - just find Ford a position to play and let him play. As a kid with no experience he showed up on a grand stage in a big way - you want those type of players on your team. Too many players get into the playoffs and choke/don't show up for whatever reasons, they try to hard or whatever. Lets see how he does in the playoffs on our team and if he shows up again - he could be one of those clutch playoff type players. Not sure it will happen but he showed it once - I'm willing to play it out and see what happens again. I'm not on the trade him as fast as we can bandwagon that D-train has been pushing the last year or so, lol.

[D-train]

Harry definitely showed some pop in the AFL as well as the elite On base skills. Bizarre stat line though because he had ZERO singles in 34 PAs.

Tiny sample but in those 34 PAs he had 3 HRs, 1 double, 9 walks for only a .174 BA but a fantastic 1.021 OPS.

He hit 11 HRs in Modesto and 15 last season. Would love to see him jump up to 20+ but that could be tough given where he will be playing all his home games.

God I can't wait until the real games start.

[D-train]

Being athletic is great but the hit tool is so much more important. Look at Cal. The last guy you would call athletic is now a top 5 catcher in baseball because he is good defensively and can hit a lot of bombs.

Acuna Jr. is an elite 5 tool guy but it is the amazing bat that makes him an MVP level player...