Pace pitcher Walter Ford drafted by Mariners with the 74th pick in the 2022 MLB Draft
The grueling wait from May, when his high school career ended, till now, is finally over.
Pace's Walter Ford is officially a big league selection.
With the 74th pick in the Competitive Balance Round B portion of the 2022 MLB Draft, the Seattle Mariners have decided to take a chance on the Patriots ace.
The 6-foot-3, 198-pound pitcher lived up to high expectation in his senior year, further developing his stock with each start on the mound and every accolade earned.
Leading Pace to a 24-6 record and a Class 6A state championship runner-up finish, Ford was lights out on the mound with a 10-2 record and .90 ERA. In 70 1/3 innings of work, he waved 126 batters while walking a mere 25.
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Ford was rightfully recognized as the Class 6A Player of the Year by a statewide panel of high school baseball coaches and the media. He also finished in fifth for the Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Baseball award.
No pitch in his portfolio is thrown without major league action. His fastball topped out at 98 miles per hour this season, sitting in the low-to-mid 90s throughout the entirety of his starts. His changeup is well-located and clocks in at mid-80s while his slider, one of the best breakers in the draft, truly separates him as a right-handed pitcher.
Crossing the plate at anywhere from low-to-mid 80s, his slider has been recorded with a spin rate of 3200 revolutions per minute. To put that into perspective, it would be one of the most wicked sliders in the MLB at the current moment.
He becomes the 17th Pace alumni to hear his name called in the MLB Draft. He's the most recent selection since Brandon Sproat in 2019, who just completed his sophomore year at the University of Florida.
Ford also becomes the third-highest drafted Pace player. He is only behind former MLB all-star Addison Russell, who was selected 11th overall in the 2012 MLB Draft and Drew Cumberland, who was taken 46th overall in the 2007 MLB Draft, reaching AA-level minor league ball at his peak.
Committed to play baseball at the University of Alabama, Ford will now have to choose between fulfilling that commitment or going pro.
Lucas Semb can be reached at Lsemb@pensacol.gannett.com or 850-281-7414. Follow him on Twitter at @Lucas_Semb for stories and various Pensacola area score updates.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: MLB Draft 2022: Pace pitcher Walter Ford drafted by Seattle Mariners
