The Los Angeles Angels have been known to fast-track their young players to the Major Leagues. With regard to one of their pitchers, they appear to be regretting their decision. The spring’s biggest surprise was right-handed pitcher Ryan Johnson, who joined the team despite never having pitched professionally.
The 74th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft became just the 24th player in MLB history since the draft was instituted in 1965 to bypass the minor leagues altogether. Safe to say that move didn’t exactly pan out how the Angels had hoped.
Johnson was one of the team’s most valuable relievers this season and established himself as a reliable part of the bullpen, but the Halos were unable to overcome his recent setbacks. The Angels chose to option him after he had a 7.36 ERA in 14 games.
However, they did not just option him to Triple-A. The Angels announced Johnson’s demote to High-A in a massive roster shuffle on Friday. Johnson’s decision to start the season in High-A was not surprising, but the 22-year-old rookie will have a difficult time adjusting after being a high-leverage reliever in the major leagues.
General manager Perry Minasian revealed that the organization considered Johnson to be one of their better choices for the major league bullpen when he was added to the Opening Day roster. When we tell our players, “The players that we feel are going to help us win games are the ones that are going to make the team,” Minasian stated in March, “I’m big on following through on that.” “I’m big on your actions speaking louder than your words.”
“We didn’t give him anything,” said manager Ron Washington. He accepted the position. Johnson made his Angels debut right away, pitching in the team’s season opener against the Chicago White Sox on March 27.
Johnson made his Angels debut right away, pitching in the team’s season opener against the Chicago White Sox on March 27. After pitching a scoreless seventh inning, Johnson returned to the mound for the eighth and fell apart. In the end, he only recorded two more outs but gave up five earned runs.
After that, Johnson improved significantly, making four consecutive outings without giving up an earned run. He became the Angels’ seventh-inning option after giving up an earned run in only one of his last nine appearances.
Regretfully, Johnson hasn’t had as much luck on the most recent excursions. In his previous four appearances, he has given up at least one earned run. On Thursday, he pitched poorly against the Blue Jays, giving up two singles, a walk, and three earned runs without recording an out. A few weeks earlier, his ERA was 4.50, but before he was finally sent down, it soared to 7.36.
Johnson will now probably go through a more conventional development with the Angels. Given that he was a starter in college, they might even extend his time as a starting pitcher.
