Seattle Mariners Starting 1st Baseman… Mike Ford?

Coming into Spring Training, you might be looking through the Mariners off-season additions, and see a guy by the name of Mike Ford. Ford was chosen in by the Mariners with the 11th pick of the Rule 5 draft from the New York Yankees organization.

In the Rule 5 draft, players not on teams’ 40 man rosters could be drafted by another team. The player chosen will cost the drafting team $100,000 and that player must remain on the 25 man roster for the entirety of the season. If the player does not make the 25 man roster, he must be offered back to the original team for half the price ($50,000).

For Mike Ford, he came into camp a long shot to make the 25 man roster. He played mostly at the AA level last season (101 games) but did make it to AAA for a cup of coffee (25 games). That doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t make the team out of spring training. However, it does make you think he will need more time at AAA.

But the competition is dwindling around him this spring. With a well documented injury to starting 1st baseman Ryon Healy, and Dan Vogelbach could miss time after taking a pitch off of the top of his foot.

Below are the 2017 stats for Healy, Vogelbach and Ford:

Ryon Healy (OAK): .271 / .305 /  .451 with 25 HR 78 RBI 23 Walks 142 Strikeouts

Dan Vogelbach(AAA): .290 / .388 / .455 with 17 HR 83 RBI 76 Walks 98 Strikeouts

Mike Ford (AA/AAA):  .270 / .404 / .471 with 20 HR 86 RBI 94 Walks 72 Strikeouts

All three had very good numbers in 2017, but 1 thing seems to stand out. Mike Ford/’s strikeout to walk ratio. 94 walks to 72 strikeouts. You just don’t see that in the MLB anymore, especially from a 1st baseman, unless your name is Joey Votto. He has also done that in 2016 and 2014. Another thing in his stats is his strikeout percentage, just a tick under 14%. Needless to say, he puts the ball in play.

With Healy missing 4-6 weeks, and needing time in the minors to get ready, the battle is between Vogelbach and Ford. Vogelbach does have minor league options left. But Ford needs to stay on the 25 man roster if Seattle wants to keep him in the organization. Both Vogelbach and Ford bat from the left side, while Healy bats from the right. There is a possibility of platooning that position , so one of these guys will have that opportunity.

Next: The Case for Daniel Vogelbach

The case for Ford over Vogelbach are that he was chosen in the Rule 5 draft. Also he isn’t a liability at 1B ( only 1 error in 173 innings at 1st) and his strikeout rate. That being said, if Ford doesn’t perform in the Cactus League, he will not make the team. With all the injuries piling up, Mike Ford will be the starting 1st baseman on Opening Day 2018..