Aaron Ford/Photo by Ed Delany, MMN

Columbia Fireflies left-handed pitcher Aaron Ford has been recognized as the BC Powder Relief Pitcher of the Month for the month of May, the team announced on Wednesday.

Ford, 23, appeared in seven games in May, pitching to a 2.79 ERA in 9 2/3 innings. He faced 37 batters and allowed nine hits, only three of which went for extra bases. He surrendered three earned runs while holding opposing batters to a .595 OPS. He has yet to surrender a single walk or home run in the month of May and struck out nine.

Ford, a native of Houston, Texas, was drafted by the Mets in the twenty-first round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft after an excellent season at Tennessee Wesleyan. He excelled in Kingsport last season, pitching to a 1.17 ERA and 0.783 WHIP over 15 1/3 innings. He was promoted to Columbia last August and got shelled to the tune of a 12.71 ERA in only 5 2/3 innings.

Ford, who was relied upon as a starting pitcher in college, was converted to the bullpen in the Mets organization. Previously, he found his success by missing bats. In 2017, Ford struck out batters at a rate of 14.1 K/9. So far this May, Ford has struck out batters at a rate of 8.4 K/9.

While his strikeout numbers are down compared to last year, Ford has managed to keep opponents off the base paths. He has a 0.931 WHIP in May.

Among Columbia pitchers this season, Ford ranks fourth in ERA and fourth in WHIP. He holds a 1.98 ERA and 0.80 WHIP for the season in 13.2 innings.