Yankees Face Unusual Dilemma with Prospect Mike Ford

The New York Yankees could risk losing minor league first baseman in the Rule 5 draft if he isn’t added to the 40-man roster this winter after a strong finish with Double-A Trenton.

It’s pretty incredible to think the New York Yankees first base prospect Mike Ford went undrafted in 2013 after being the first player in history to be named both Ivy League Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year with an incredible performance on both sides of the ball with the Princeton Tigers. He was unanimously voted All-Ivy First Team as both a pitcher and first baseman.

As a junior that season, Ford hit .320/.443/.503 with six home runs in 147 at-bats. He had a .299/.403/.425 slash line during his three years with the Tigers. He was just as impressive on the mound, pitching to a 0.98 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 13 walks over 64 frames in his junior year.

After going undrafted in June, Ford made a big impression in the prestigious Cape Cod League, taking home the batting title that summer with a .407 average, 22 runs scored, 18 RBI, 16 walks, seven doubles, and five home runs in 26 games with the Cotuit Kettlers. He also continued to pitch that summer, but didn’t fare nearly as well, allowing seven earned runs in 7.2 innings.

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That performance was enough to land him a minor league deal with the Yankees in late-July and an assignment to the Staten Island Yankees in the NY-Penn League. The team put an end to his pitching and moved him to first base full time.

During his four years in the organization, Ford has been a consistent run producer. He owns a career .273/.370/.418 as a professional across four levels. His power numbers may be a tick lower than what you’d like to see from a first base prospect, but he’s an on-base machine with excellent plate discipline.

Ford might be best known for a monster four home run performance on May 25 2014 with Low-A Charleston. He hit a two-run shot in the fourth, and then solo blasts in the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings of the Riverdogs 17-10 win over the Hickory Crawdads.

Although he missed three months of the season with a wrist injury, Ford had one of his better seasons at the plate in 2016, hitting .289/.411/.479 with eight home runs in 236 PA, with the majority of his action coming with Double-A Trenton. Having that kind of year in the upper-minors will get you noticed, even for a guy with Ford’s lack of pedigree.

The 24-year-old first baseman will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter for the first time and it seems like there’s a non-zero chance he gets selected given what a polished hitter he is at this point. At the same time, his lack of flexibility really hurts him. There’s a reason most Rule 5 draftees are relievers, utility guys, fourth outfielders, etc. If you take a first baseman/DH type, he really has to be a starter to have value these days, as most team’s no longer carry a pinch-hitting slugger.

With the Yankees facing a 40-man roster crunch this winter, there is virtually no chance they will protect Ford. With Greg Bird and Tyler Austin ahead of him on the first base depth chart, there’s not a ton of need for Ford at the moment. If he does go undrafted, Ford looks like a strong candidate for the Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre starting first base job for 2017, putting him just one step away from the Bronx.

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Fans saw this season how fast depth can evaporate at a position when the injuries to Bird, Mark Teixeira, Chris Parmelee, and Dustin Ackley piled up in the first half. New York will be counting on two unproven youngsters with significant injury histories next season, so Ford might be closer to the big leagues than it looks at first glance.

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