7:40PM: The Mariners have also signed second-round shortstop Edwin Arroyo and third-round right-hander Michael Morales to above-slot deals, according to Mayo (Twitter links). The 48th overall pick has an assigned price of $1,543,600, but Arroyo (a Florida State commit) signed for $1.65MM. Morales had been committed to Vanderbilt, but he’ll now begin his pro career after seeing to a $1.5MM bonus that is more than double the $733.1K slot price for the 83rd overall pick.
3:54PM: The Mariners have agreed to sign 12th overall pick Harry Ford, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports (via Twitter). Ford signed for $4,366,400, matching the slot value assigned to his pick.
Ford is an 18-year-old high school catcher from Georgia, and he’ll now begin his pro career after being originally committed to attend Georgia Tech. Ford was the consensus choice as the draft’s second-best catching prospect, behind only Henry Davis (who went to the Pirates as the first overall pick). Draft pundits all had Ford within roughly the same range on their rankings, with The Athletic’s Keith Law placing Ford highest at eighth, while Baseball America was comparatively the lowest at 17th.
While Ford was drafted as a catcher, there is some doubt he’ll remain at the position — not necessarily due to a lack of ability behind the plate, but rather because Ford is a good enough athlete to potentially fit at multiple other positions. Ford has 60-grade speed and also a plus throwing arm that some scouts feel could make him a possible future option as a center fielder. At the plate, Ford has excellent bat speed and is very strong, making him a good candidate for more power potential in the future.
Good ol Harrison.
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And now we’re back to Mark. (yep, it doesn’t take much to entertain me)
Lew Ford must be proud.
Get off my plane!
For the love of God…..NO MORE SEQUELS!!
Why did it have to be snakes?
Lol love it. Ask mom for some more cookies. Let’s head back down to the basement and play more Sega.
HENRY for the love of…
Drafted by Detroit.
Get on the assembly line Harry, America can af-ford you
I bet he will be a Model M player. Too bad he didn’t sign with the Twins. Then he could be Model T.
That would be so cool if Ford could be a C/2b/Of type of player. Will take at least 2-3 full seasons of minor leagues but pretty exciting player
You’re really hoping he turns into Craig Biggio I can see.
Never tell me the odds of this guys success
Used to be pretty much a foregone conclusion that drafting and attempting to sign a Vandy commit was a waste of time, that program had pull power for baseball. Not sure if still does, but still don’t see a lot of HS commits to the place bypass it.
4.3 million pulls more than Vandy ever could.
I wonder if the draft being shortened to 20 rounds is enticing more of these high school kids to sign and forego college. The money doesn’t hurt but it seems more and more of the high school draftees are signing that professional contract.