For the first time under Jerry Dipoto’s tenure as GM, the Mariners made a Rule 5 draft selection, and it is a good one: Mike Ford, 1B for the Yankees’ Triple-A club. Ford, a two-time All-American at Princeton who was the Ivy League player AND pitcher of the year in 2013, is a 25-year-old lefty hitter who has never put up a wRC+ of less than 120 in one of his full seasons in the minors. He walks more than he strikes out, and he crushed the International League this year between Double-A and Triple-A, slugging 20 home runs between the two levels.
2017 Rule 5 Draft: Mariners select Mike Ford from the Yankees
