Seth Johnson has already experienced the ups and downs of a grizzled major league veteran, but the 24-year-old right-hander now slots in as another addition to Baltimore’s stable of young, developing arms.
Nothing has deterred the prospect’s unorthodox path in baseball — not a position change, an elbow injury or a high-profile trade. Johnson was acquired by the Orioles along with fellow righty Chayce McDermott last summer in the trade that sent Trey Mancini to the Houston Astros, only to undergo Tommy John surgery two days after the deal was made.
“[The Orioles] knew the circumstances surrounding me when they made that trade, so they said, ‘Just make sure you dominate the rehab process, get healthy, feel good and 2024 is going to be kind of the year,'” Johnson said on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 6. “They knew this year was about getting healthy again.”
Johnson is Baltimore’s No. 15 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, but he didn’t even come up as a pitcher. The scarcely recruited shortstop only started pitching in his sophomore year at Louisburg University, realizing his abilities after he and some teammates started throwing balls as hard as they could on a day off.
“That little radar gun they had said I hit 92,” Johnson said. “The next day, we had a team lift. I asked our head coach if I could start pitching.”
Johnson pieced together enough innings to get recruited by Campbell University, where he hit his stride as a starter. The junior posted a 4.61 ERA across 11 starts, 14 appearances and 66.1 innings pitched, striking out 81 while only walking 30.
The Tampa Bay Rays saw Johnson’s potential, selecting him with the 40th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound right-hander spent three years climbing up the ranks while breaking out as a highly-touted prospect, but he only made seven starts for High-A Bowling Green in 2022 before being shut down.
Johnson was then included in a three-team deal that sent Mancini to the Astros and Jose Siri to the Rays.
“It was a pretty weird experience,” Johnson said. “I got my surgery in Texas with Dr. Keith Meister. I flew down that Monday, which was Aug. 1. As soon as I landed, I was waiting on my dad to pick up the rental car because he was going to help me with the surgery and stuff. As I was waiting for him, I got a call from the Rays farm director who told me I was traded. I saw my dad, and that was the first thing I told him. He was just kind of speechless.”
Johnson spent much of 2023 on the mend before finally debuting as a member of the Baltimore system on Aug. 19 when he threw a scoreless inning in the Florida Complex League. He then threw two scoreless innings at Low-A Delmarva on Aug. 21 before being promoted to High-A Aberdeen.
Johnson struggled in his first outing with the IronBirds on Aug. 31, allowing four runs and recording just four outs, but he bounced back with three scoreless innings on Sept. 6. He was then promoted to Double-A Bowie to finish out the season.
“It’s kind of been a weird year,” he said. “I started my rehab assignment three weeks ago, so as the season’s winding down for everyone else it’s just getting going for me. It’s almost been like a late spring training.”
Johnson’s long-awaited ascension through the system is boosted by a return to normalcy after the longest break from the game he’s ever experienced. The starter, no stranger to loaded farm systems, now looks to march onward. He eagerly anticipates joining the major league team at some point in the years to come.
“You watch the big league games, they’re super fun, you want to be a part of that,” he said. “Just gotta stay patient.”
For more from Johnson, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles