Seth Johnson

From BR Bullpen

Seth William Johnson

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Seth Johnson was drafted 40th overall in the Competitive Balance Round A of the 2019 amateur draft, by the Tampa Bay Rays, with a pick obtained from the Oakland Athletics in a three-team trade revolving around Jurickson Profar the previous December. He was the rays' third pick that year, following Greg Jones and JJ Goss. Seth was a shortstop in high school and junior college, before being converted to pitching; his college experience consisted of 14 games, including 11 starts, with Campbell University in 2019, with a record of 3-3, 4.61. He obviously still had a lot to learn, but there was no doubt about the strength of his arm. Contrary to many who undergo the change of position, it did not come at the urging of a coach, but of his own volition, as he realized that he could light up the radar gun with his throws and decided to give pitching a serious try.

In his first professional season in 2019, he made 9 starts and pitched 17 innings between the Princeton Rays and GCL Rays, with a 16/3 K/W ratio. He then had to sit out the 2020 season because the minor leagues were shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic, not the greatest thing for someone new to pitching who needed to get a lot of professional innings under his belt. In 2021, he had a very solid year with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Low-A East, going 6-6, 2.88 in 23 games, including 16 starts. The Rays endeavored to keep him under 100 innings, given the need to build up his arm strength gradually, which explains why he spent time as a reliever. In all, he logged 93 2/3 innings, gave up 86 hits, walked 22 and struck out 115.

He was assigned to the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the South Atlantic League in 2022, where he went 1-1, 3.00 in 7 starts, pitching 27 innings as he once again missed time with injuries. On August 1st, he was sent to the Baltimore Orioles as part of a three-team trade also involving the Houston Astros in which Trey Mancini went from Baltimore to Houston and OF Jose Siri to Tampa Bay, with a couple other pitching prospects also changing teams. He underwent Tommy John surgery only days after the trade. He was limited to just 5 games in 2023 as he was recovering from the surgical procedure, but appeared at four different levels, ranging from the Florida Complex League to the AA Eastern League. In all, he was 0-1, 4.35 in 10 1/3 innings.

In 2024, he began the season with the AA Bowie Baysox, going 0-6, 2.63 in 18 starts. His record reflects the fact that the Orioles kept him oin a short leash following his injury issues the previous season, limiting him to just 65 innings. On July 30th, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Moises Chace in return for major league reliever Gregory Soto. He stayed in the Eastern League for two more starts with the Reading Fightin Phils, then was promoted to the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs on August 15th and went 2-0, 0.56 in three starts there. On September 8th, he made his major league debut for the Phillies, facing the Miami Marlins on the road and it did not go well. He lasted 2 1/3 innings but gave up 9 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks as the Phils lost the game, 10-1.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Savannah McCann: "From Shortstop To Pitcher, Seth Johnson Is Turning Heads At Rays Camp", Baseball America, March 22, 2022. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=Seth_Johnson&oldid=1384395"