The All-Star pitcher and skipper were extremely complimentary towards the rookie catcher after his first start
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have had their playoff position secured for the last two days.
On Thursday, before the Mariners' 6-2 win against the Colorado Rockies, the club clinched a bye through the wild card round of the playoffs. The next day, they were locked in as the No. 2 seed.
With its postseason future and position clinched, Seattle used Games 1 and 2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday and Saturday to rest key players and give bench players who hadn't seen much action more playing time.
One of those players was rookie catcher and top 100 prospect Harry Ford.
The former 2021 first-round pick made the first start of his major league career at catcher in Saturday's 5-3 loss against Los Angeles. And his performance drew positive reviews.
"I think he did a really nice job," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after the game. "Catching guys like Logan Gilbert for the first time can be difficult on both ends, for Logan and for Harry. But I thought it went pretty smoothly. Able to keep a pretty good rapport between the two of them and keep the game plan alive. ... Overall a really nice ball game for Harry to get his (first start) in the big leagues."
Ford's contract was selected by Seattle when MLB rosters expanded Sept. 1. Until Saturday, he had two at-bats in four plate appearances. He had one RBI entering the game — a walk-off sacrifice fly in a 7-6 win against the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 11.
Ford registered his first major league hit Saturday. He finished the game 1-for-4 with a single. His lone hit came on the first pitch of his first at-bat of the game in the bottom of the second.
"(My mindset was) just hit a heater," Ford said in a postgame interview. "He left it down the middle, so I just took a swing at it, hit. ... A lot (of adrenaline) the whole game, for sure. It was good."
Ford also nearly registered his first major league home run. He hit a 100.9-mph, 382-foot fly ball to dead-center field in the bottom of the sixth that was caught on the warning track.
Beyond his offense, Ford's performance behind the plate was also well-complimented.
As mentioned by Wilson, Ford caught Gilbert on Saturday. The 2024 All-Star and 2025 Opening Day starter was focused on getting to his full arsenal of offerings and kept the rookie on his toes. Gilbert was impressed with how Ford handled himself.
"Harry did a great job," Gilbert said after the game. "From the scouting report, the game plan on — very prepared. Knew what he wanted to do each hitter, did a ton of research but condensed it in a good way. On the field, really good blocks behind the plate. Splitter, slider — I didn't always make it easy on him and he did a good job back there. Sequencing was great."
Ford caught Gilbert during the latter's rehab assignment with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, and the strides the 22-year-old catcher had made were evident even then.
"I think he is making it his own too and has his own confidence and all that kind of stuff," Ford said. "We got some time together in (Triple-A Tacoma) when I was on some rehab starts, and I could already see improvements in what he's doing and how he's conveying his stuff. Made it shorter, to the point today. A lot of confidence. ... Made it easy on me."
Despite not receiving a lot of playing time since his call-up, Ford has made sure to keep his approach consistent whether he's seen the field or not.
"I go the same way with the preparation every day, whether it's Triple-A or here," Ford said. "So it's not really a different focus or a different approach. It's just continuing to do the same thing, the same diligence I try to carry every day."
Ford's faced road blocks to the big leagues this season and last year due to American League MVP candidate Cal Raleigh being the starter at the position, and Mitch Garver being the entrenched backup.
Raleigh is signed through 2030 and Garver has a $12 mutual option for 2026.
Ford hasn't had the clearest route to the big leagues, and there's still questions about what his role could be in the future. Regardless of how he's utilized by the organization, Saturday was a good first step.
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