Ford attended North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. Ford committed to play college baseball at Georgia Tech.[1] As a senior, he batted .296 with seven doubles and five home runs and was named the Greater Atlanta Player of the Year by MaxPreps.[2] Ford played in 104 games over four varsity seasons and batted for a .343 average with 83 runs scored, 20 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs, and 57 RBIs.[3]
Professional career
The Seattle Mariners selected Ford in the first round, with the 12th overall pick, in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft.[4] On July 22, 2021, Ford signed with the Mariners for the assigned slot value of $4.36 million.[5]
Ford was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game in 2023 and 2024. He struck out in his single at-bat in 2023, and he walked in his lone plate appearance in 2024.[9][10]
Ford was named the Mariners' top prospect and a top 50 overall prospect by MLB.com before the 2023 season,[11] and the top Mariners prospect and #40 overall prospect by Fangraphs in the middle of the 2024 season.[12]
Ford played catcher and DH and batted .429, with 12 RBIs and 5 stolen bases (both leading the championship) in 21 at-bats for Great Britain in the 2023 European Baseball Championship in September 2023 in the Czech Republic.[16]