Two of the Seattle Mariners' top prospects, second baseman Cole Young and designated hitter Harry Ford, put up solid showings for the American League in the MLB All-Star Futures Game on Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The National League won 6-1, but that was hardly due to lack of performance from Young and Ford.
Both Young and Ford were named starters for the game. Young batted second in the lineup and Ford batted ninth. It was Young's first time in the Futures Game and Ford's second.
Young is ranked the No. 22 prospect on MLB.com's top 100 list and is the No. 1 prospect in the Mariners' farm system. Ford is ranked No. 23 overall and is the No. 2 Seattle prospect.
Young registered the first hit of the game — a single to shallow left field. He finished the Futures Game 1-for-3 with a pop out and a foul out. He played through four innings.
Young also saw some action at the infield. He caught a pop out, a line out and a fly out.
Young was drafted by Seattle in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He's batting .262 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs in 76 games with the Mariners' Double-A affiliate Arkansas Travelers this season.
Ford, normally a catcher (save from one start at left field with Arkansas) didn't get any playing time on defense and had one appearance at the plate, which was a walk.
Ford did get some other valuable experience while in Arlington and received some pointers from six-time All-Star Prince Fielder, according to the MLB Network broadcast.
Ford is batting .253 with five home runs and 30 RBIs in 76 games with the Travelers this season. He was a first round pick for the Mariners in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Both Young and Ford are two of Seattle's eight prospects in the top 100, according to Baseball America. Ford has been speculated to be a potential trade piece for the Mariners with the July 30 MLB trade deadline approaching.
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