Seattle Mariners Prospect Harry Ford Makes History Not Seen in Almost 20 Years

Ford, who is playing for the Tacoma Rainiers, is off to an excellent start in his first career action at Triple-A.

Seattle Mariners catcher Harry Ford (72) reacts after hitting a home run in the eighth inning during a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park on March 8. | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

Seattle Mariners' top prospect Harry Ford is off to a very solid start at Triple-A Tacoma in 2025.

The catcher is 3-for-9 with three runs scored and four walks through three games. He also made some interesting team history of the last 20 years on Wednesday as the Rainiers played against Reno.

Per Rainiers Media Relations Director Andy Helwig on social media:

Your stat of the day: Harry Ford is the first catcher to lead off a game for the Rainiers since Rob Johnson led off for Tacoma on May 27, 2007 at Tucson (!) #TridentsUp

Your stat of the day: Harry Ford is the first catcher to lead off a game for the Rainiers since Rob Johnson led off for Tacoma on May 27, 2007 at Tucson (!) #TridentsUp https://t.co/0Lkl58nSip

— Andy Helwig (@andy_helwig) April 3, 2025

Ford, 22, was the first-round pick of the Mariners back in 2021. He's a career .261 hitter in the minor leagues with 36 home runs and 188 RBIs. He's played in the Futures Game and represented Great Britain in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He helped lead Double-A Arkansas to the Southern League championship last season.

He's the No. 63 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Ford offers a unique profile as a catcher with plus speed, one who stole 35 bases in '24 and 82 bags over three years, giving him 20-20 potential. He still has work to do with his overall defensive work in terms of blocking and framing, but he has strong leadership skills, works hard at his craft and his agility plays well behind the dish. For the first time, he did see time in left field last year as the Mariners work to add some positional flexibility to his resume.

The Rainiers will take on Reno again on Thursday. The Mariners will be back in action on Friday against the San Francisco Giants.

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