Who's on First?

With Greg Bird missing almost the entire season, Chris Carter struggling and Tyler Austin still rehabbing from a broken bone in his foot, 1st base has been the lone Yankee problem area. Hey, with the team back in first place -- thanks to last night's win combined with the Red Sox loss to KC -- it's not that big an issue.
Still, before the Yanks consider dealing for a replacement, might they be willing to try another minor leaguer at the position? In this case, it's not a former top draft pick or premiuim international signee. It's an undrafted free agent, the former Princeton standout Mike Ford. Haven't heard of this Ivy League product? If you haven't been to a Trenton Thunder game, you likely haven't.
But that might be about to change. In a parallel to TJ Rivera, undrafted and overlooked in the Mets farm system until he was promoted to the big club, Ford has been a good, not great, but good player. And this year, spent mostly at Double-A, he's begun to catch a little attention. 11 home runs -- including four in a brief promotion to Scranton -- that certainly helps. A caller to WFAN's Mike Francesa on Wednesday brought up Ford's name -- and when you look at the numbers, it's not a bad suggestion. Mike isn't big or athletic looking, the way new Yankee mainstays Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks are. Still, this is the game where you're evaluated based on the back of your baseball card. And Ford's card has been looking better and better of late.
If Bird's recovery hits another pothole, Carter continues to play like the 2016 edition of Ryan Howard and Austin's power remains MIA, maybe, just maybe, that could open the door for Ford. The odds are long, but ... if you pull for underdogs, this could be a guy worth rooting for.
These images of Ford came (top of page) from Trenton's June 13th game at Hartford and April 15th at home against Portland.


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