GRANT FORD, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
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Born: March 11, 1998 Height: 6’1″ Weight: 175 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 5th Round, 154th Overall, 2019 How Acquired: Draft College: University of Nevada Agent: N/A |
WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE |
Ford was another in a string of overdrafts by the Pirates early in the 2019 draft. He wasn’t rated among the better draft prospects by any of the various outlets. He pitched strictly in relief at Nevada and served as their closer as a junior. He had a 2.76 ERA and held opponents to a .195 average. He struck out 51 and walked 13 in 45.2 IP. Those numbers were a great improvement over his sophomore and freshman seasons, when Ford had ERAs of 8.16 and 7.53, respectively. He throws 94-97 mph with an upper-80s slider. Ford signed for $79,100 over the slot value.
2019 Ford made eight starts and three relief appearances for West Virginia. Regardless of role, he slowly increased his pitch counts; one of his longest outings was a four-inning relief appearance. He had problems with walks at times and had his best stretch of pitching in July. He had a mild reverse platoon split. 2020 2021 Ford served as a swing man for Greensboro, making ten starts and 15 relief appearances. He mostly struggled, mainly due to walks and home runs. He gave up 17 of the latter with the Grasshoppers, or one every four and a half innings. The home park accounted for some of that, as he allowed 11 there, but his ERA was a little higher on the road, so that doesn’t explain the struggles. Both left- and right-handed batters hit him hard. Ford made two appearances at the end of the season for Indianapolis and got torched. 2022 Ford opened the season with Greensboro, got into five games in relief, and then went out with an unknown injury. He returned late in the year, getting into three rehab games. Ford has some ability to miss bats, but he hasn’t put things together. He’ll return to Greensboro to open 2023. |
CONTRACT INFORMATION
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2023: Minor league contract |
PLAYER INFORMATION
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Signing Bonus: $422,500 MiLB Debut: 2019 MLB Debut: MiLB FA Eligible: 2025 MLB FA Eligible: Rule 5 Eligible: 2022 Added to 40-Man: Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
TRANSACTIONS
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June 4, 2019: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 5th round, 154th overall pick; signed on June 12. |