Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | TB | RHP | 15 | 45 |
Grades Update: Aug 2021
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Cnt/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 40 | 55 | 50 | 55 | 45 | 40/30 |
Aug 2021 Report
Evaluator: Joe Drake
Age: 22 yr
Height: 6-1
Weight: 200 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2019 CBA
RuleV: 2022
Physical Description: Medium frame with athletic build. Muscle throughout the body, but especially in the thighs. Higher waist, broad shoulders and longer limbs. Moves easily through delivery. Former shortstop and still looks the part; hasn't been pitching full-time very long. Room for a little weight, but not much.
Mechanics: Full windup; slight drop and drive; athletic delivery with high leg kick but remains in control throughout; moderate effort from a 3/4s slot with medium arm action. Delivery is simple but Johnson struggles to repeat at times. Sets up on the first base side of the rubber. A little slower to the plate from the stretch with times above 1.5 consistently; opponents look to run on him.
Fastball: 93-96; T98. Moderate armside run which he likes to use to run the ball back over the plate gloveside for called strikes. Can beat hitters with it up in and above the zone; has some carry to it but can straighten out up there. Rarely locates armside unless it's above the zone, will need to work on this to keep righties from sitting on the fastball away. Grade: 55
Curveball: 74-77; shape ranges from 12-6 to 11-5. Inconsistent quality at present, flashing plus with tight spin and good depth while others hump out of the hand and roll. Typically locates down, but some get away and hang up in the zone. Grade: 50
Slider: 84-88; 10-4 shape; thrown hard with inconsistent bite; cutter-like movement at times. Flashes plus with tight break, good depth and some sweep. Tunnels pretty well with the fastball. Can manipulate the shape to get more depth. Locates heavily to the gloveside, typically landing at or below the waist with a few that get left up. Grade: 55
Changeup: 83-86; shows good fade with some tumble. Flashes above-average or better, but rarely. Often firm. Little feel for the pitch currently and often leaves it up armside. Often slows arm speed; looks like he's trying to place the ball. Featured almost exclusively to lefties; a clear fourth offering that he only seems to use when he has to. Grade: 45
Control and Command: Fringey strike thrower who finds the edges of the zone often when he's on, mixing in bouts of inability to find the zone at all, often missing up armside or low gloveside. Other misses tend to leak over the heart of the plate where he'll be punished by more advanced bats. Struggles to put guys away and will run up pitch counts trying to get guys to chase the fastball with 2 strikes. Has issues locating anything to the armside; he'll need to improve that to be able to work inside to righties and keep them from sitting on stuff outside and over the heart. Control: 40 | Command: 30
Overall: Converted shortstop who only recently began pitching full-time. Johnson has big stuff that lacks consistency with just okay command. There's more projection here than your typical college arm due to his limited pitching history; he's mostly beating hitters with loud stuff right now with little pitchability. The repertoire is deep enough for him to start, but he has major strides to make with the consistency of his pitch quality and command before that becomes a realistic outcome. Looks like a backend five and dive starter or a multi-inning guy from the bullpen.
OFP: 45
Role: 40 - Backend SP #5 or Low-Leverage Reliever
Risk: High
