In a bit of a surprise move, the Los Angeles Angels are breaking camp with right-handed pitcher Ryan Johnson. There are two major items of note here on Johnson. First off, he hasn’t played a single game in the minors. Secondly, he was taken 74th overall in the draft last summer, which was the pick the Angels received as compensation for losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency.
Interestingly, he struck out Ohtani this spring.
Johnson, 22, was selected out of Dallas Baptist. In his junior year, 2024, he was 11-3 with a 2.21 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 151 strikeouts against only 14 walks. He did not pitch in the minor leagues last season after being drafted and signing with the Angels. This spring, Johnson worked 11 ⅓ innings, striking out 10 and posting a 3.97 ERA.
It appears he’ll start the season in the Angels’ bullpen, though he’s also been a starter in the past.
Interestingly, the Angels have been aggressive recently in debuting their draftees. The first debut from the 2021 draft class was Chase Silseth with the Angels. The first debut from the 2022 draft class was Zach Neto of the Angels and the first debut from the 2023 class was — no, not Paul Skenes — Nolan Schanuel of the Angels.
The most recent player to be drafted, skip the minors and head straight to the majors was Garrett Crochet with the White Sox in 2021, but take note that this followed 2020, which didn’t even have a minor-league season. Prior to Crochet, it was Mike Leake, who was taken eighth overall by the Reds in 2009 and opened the 2010 season in the Cincinnati rotation.
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