Virginia middle infield transfer Henry Ford has committed to Tennessee baseball over other high-profile options, giving the Vols a middle-of-the-lineup bat that can hit for power.

While he remains a significant draft risk, he is playing in Cape Cod, the premier summer league for returning college players, which would be very unique for a player going to the draft.

He was one of a handful of recent Baylor High School (Tenn.) standouts that chose to go to Virginia and perhaps was the most productive, hitting for a .348 average and 28 home runs over his two seasons in Charlottesville.

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Despite going to a storied program like Virginia, he started immediately as a freshman at first base, where he would have his best season on a team that would make the College World Series.

He was moved to a corner outfield role as a sophomore and continued to grow his plate discipline, cutting down on his strikeouts and hitting for a high average.

If he makes it to campus, he immediately provides a major league level bat to the middle of the lineup and fills the hole left at first base with the departure of standout Andrew Fischer.

Tony Vitello has always liked having a big power-hitter at first base that he can insert into the middle of the batting lineup since arriving in Knoxville and Ford could be the next in line.

If he returns to college, the fit at Tennessee would make the most sense to continue improving as a power hitting first baseman while also being a much more hitter-friendly ballpark, as Virginia boasts one of the bigger outfields in the nation with dimensions nearly identical to the field in Omaha.

Playing in the Cape Cod league this summer should give some hope that he could make it to campus, and if he does, Tennessee has added arguably the top bat in the portal to the middle of their lineup in Henry Ford.

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