Where Does Harry Ford Rank in Nationals' Updated Farm System Rankings?
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It's safe to say there are a lot of happy people in the nation's capital after the Washington Nationals pulled off a trade that brought star catching prospect Harry Ford to town.
While it came at the expense of losing rising reliever Jose A. Ferrer, it's hard to be disappointed by this outcome even if the Nationals' already-poor bullpen unit was further decimated with the loss of the left-hander.
But to get back someone like Ford is huge. There are major question marks when it comes to Washington's catching position, both in the short and long term. So bringing in the 2021 first-round pick immediately improves that outlook, especially since it appeared like the front office was willing to have the same unit from this past season back for 2026.
No one knows at this point in time how Ford will perform for the Nationals since he only has eight major league games under his belt. However, it's clear Washington acquired a big-time talent, which is evident by their updated farm system rankings.
Harry Ford Is No. 2 in the Nationals' Updated Farm System Rankings
Following the acquisition of Ford, MLB Pipeline updated the Nationals' farm system rankings. And perhaps it should come as no surprise that he was listed at No. 2 behind 2025 first overall pick Eli Willits and ahead of rising star pitching Travis Sykora.
Willits is considered the No. 15 overall prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, while Ford comes in at No. 42 and Sykora at No. 49. Based on that, the order of those three makes sense, with Jarlin Susana listed at No. 4 in Washington's pipeline and No. 87 overall to give them four top 100 prospects.
Updated #Nats top prospects on @MLBPipeline pic.twitter.com/YGYstLqvuA
— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) December 7, 2025
That alone is a reason to get excited about this deal. While Ferrer seems to be ascending in his career with multiple years of club control remaining, if Ford is able to reach his ceiling, then the Nationals could have a star catcher on their hands for a long time.
There will be plenty of time to determine if that's going to be the case. Turning 23 in February, Ford will likely be in a spring battle with Keibert Ruiz to determine who is going to be the starting catcher on Opening Day in 2026.
Because there is still some defensive growth Ford needs to have, there's a chance he doesn't win that battle. However, there's no doubt that making the trade Paul Toboni did to bring the star catching prospect to town was one that was worth taking a chance on.
The Nationals needed a catching upgrade at some point, and they might have gotten it by shipping out one of their relievers who might never become anything more than a lefty-on-lefty matchup guy.
