Washington Nationals To Recall Top Catcher Prospect

The Washington Nationals are set to recall one of the most exciting offseason acquisitions once the second half of the regular season begins.

Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the Nationals are planning to recall top catching prospect Harry Ford following the All Star break, making his long awaited debut with the organization.

The news also comes after the Nationals announced on Wednesday that catcher Drew Millas heads to the ten day injured list, retroactive to Sunday, July 12, due to a left index finger fracture.

As for Ford, the top-100 prospect arrived in Washington back in December as part of the trade that sent closer Jose Ferrer to the Seattle Mariners before being viewed as a possible disruptor to Keibert Ruiz's chances of taking over as the starting catcher in 2026. Ford also arrived with the Nationals with experience in just eight MLB games, while his spring training was cut short after also serving as co-captain of Team Great Britain at the World Baseball Classic.

In seven games and 14 at bats through spring training, Ford posted a .214/.353/.286 slash line with just two RBIs, three hits and seven strikeouts. Ford was then optioned to Triple A Rochester back on March 18, paving the way for Ruiz to become the Opening Day catcher in the spring training battle.

In 58 games in Triple A Rochester, Ford owns a .233 batting average with four home runs and 22 RBIs to go with 65 strikeouts across over 200 at bats. Ford also owns a .705 OPS with 11 doubles on the season. Yet he has also battled through a shoulder injury through the 2026 season that has limited some of that production.

Ford, the former 12th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, will now look to put that behind him now in a Nationals uniform after entering the second half of the season as the seventh-best prospect in the organization, per MLBPipeline.

Ford also won't be the only one set to return with reliever Max Kranick joining the team after the team announced he returned from his rehab assignment and has since been reinstated from the 60 day injured list.

The Nationals will kick off the second half of the 2026 regular season with a six-game road trip starting with the first meeting against the Athletics in Sacramento beginning Friday, July 17, with first pitch set for 9:40 PM.

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