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AAP - Erik Johnson


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Draft Info:

 

 

http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-basebl/sp.../060811aaa.html

June 8, 2011

 

BERKELEY -

 

Preparing to play in its first-ever NCAA Super Regional this weekend against Dallas Baptist at Santa Clara's Stephen Schott Stadium, the 2011 California baseball program had seven players - juniors Erik Johnson, Marcus Semien, Dixon Anderson, Chadd Krist and Matt Flemer, and seniors Kevin Miller and Austin Booker - drafted in the June 6-7 Major League Amateur Draft.

 

Junior right-hander Erik Johnson (Los Altos) was selected in the second round and was the 80th pick overall by the Chicago White Sox. Johnson was recently selected first-team All-Pac-10, as well as Pac-10 All-Academic, and is sporting a 6-4 record with a 2.91 ERA. He is currently sixth in the conference with 96 strikeouts in 96.0 innings, and is fourth in the league with a .194 opponent batting average.

 

 

http://wap.mlb.com/cws/news/article/2011060720152956/

CHICAGO -- There was a distinct West Coast feel to the second day of the First-Year Player Draft, with the White Sox specifically targeting Berkeley, Calif.

 

"How about that?" said a smiling White Sox director of amateur scouting Doug Laumann concerning the University of California connection. "We went from a program that was going to shut down to taking three guys from there."

 

Actually, three of the club's first 12 picks on Tuesday, beginning with the second round, involved players being selected from Cal. It seems like a good talent pool to swim in, considering the Golden Bears remain alive in the NCAA Baseball Championship Super Regional, facing Dallas Baptist on Saturday in Santa Clara.

 

Erik Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound right-handed pitcher with plus stuff, was taken in the second round out of Cal at pick No. 80. Johnson has a 6-4 record with a 2.94 ERA over 16 starts this season, but more impressively, he has fanned 96 in 96 innings and has given up just 63 hits.

 

Laumann views Johnson as a workhorse, "a Curt Schilling-type guy who we think is a starter." Johnson could open as high as Class A Kannapolis once they bring him into the organization after Cal's season concludes, but wouldn't be used in relief as 2010 No. 1 pick Chris Sale was employed after being drafted last year.

"You know we always have that internal discussion about how high guys start and where they start," Laumann said. "We feel like a strong college pitcher at a Division I program, he should be able to go out and compete with a full-season club.

 

"Whether we choose to do that at Kannapolis is hard to say. Sometimes you worry about the innings they've logged in college. We'll plug him in the rotation somewhere. Whenever he gets done, he's going to be ready to pitch. We won't have to build up innings or knock his innings off."

 

 

 

 

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U of Cal Bio:

http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-basebl/mt...son_erik00.html

 

The Bears' top pitching prospect in 2009, who first developed into Cal's closer, and then became the Bears' No. 1 starter as a freshman...threw a complete game against USC in his last outing of 2009...a right-hander who throws in the low 90s with a curveball and change-up...excelled in the Northwoods League in the summer of 2009 and was named the sixth-top prospect by Baseball America...finished 4-2 with a 2.61 ERA, and 49 strikeouts in 59.0 innings as a starter for the Alexandria (Minn.) Beetles...earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in 2010.
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http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/9/4/24043...hite-sox-report

 

Erik Johnson was the bulldog ace for California this season. He is 6'2", 240 and is a workhorse who can run it up to 94 or 95. He has a good change and a nice breaking ball as well. His mechanics are erratic and he isn't overly athletic but at worst he will be a good set up man. He could be a #3 guy and eat 200 innings if everything works right for him and he can iron out his mechanics a little.

 

I'm seeing more of a Jon Garland-type with Johnson, sans the sinker for the FB.

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QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ May 26, 2012 -> 11:56 AM)
Any new news on this guy, just saw that mlb.com has him as our #6 top prospect and Ive never heard of him. Coming here I like what I read about him.

Before issues with elbow tendonitis, he was highly thought-of. But elbow issues make people leery, certainly they do for me, so no way I'd put him that high at this point.

 

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QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 29, 2012 -> 01:07 PM)
Before issues with elbow tendonitis, he was highly thought-of. But elbow issues make people leery, certainly they do for me, so no way I'd put him that high at this point.

Not to mention he has to work on his control big time. That was already a concern before this year.

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Extended look at the White Sox system

 

The White Sox decided on a conservative approach with right-handed pitcher Erik Johnson by keeping him in extended spring training and are hoping the strategy pays off.

 

Johnson, ranked No. 4 in the club's Minor League system, was slowed by mild shoulder tendinitis but pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings for Class A Kannapolis in his first start of the season. He gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings against Hagerstown in his second start last week.

 

"Hopefully, we'll see what he did last year," White Sox director of player development Nick Capra said. "He's a big kid with a power arm. He has different breaking balls and changeups. We're excited to get him on mound against competition other than just extended [spring training] hitters."

 

(written 6/15...also some stuff on Molina, Saladino and Mitchell)

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Update - Stats on EJ

 

Combined Single A Stats to date:

 

11 Game Starts

3 Wins, 4 Losses

2.67 ERA

57.1 Innings Pitched

51 hits allowed

24 Runs Allowed, 17 Earned Runs Allowed

21 Walks

48 Strikeouts

.232 Batting Average allowed by opponents

3 HRs allowed

 

Not bad so far for his first taste of the minors.

His last start - 6IP, 6 Runs allowed, all earned.

Interesting recap and quote from the Manager.

 

Johnson, a second-round draft pick by the parent Chicago White Sox last June, consistently pitched ahead in the count, throwing first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 25 batters he faced.

 

But a throwing error by shortstop David Herbek forced him to pitch out of the stretch with one out in the fifth, and the Blue Rocks capitalized with four hits from the next five batters to build a 4-0 lead.

 

"We could have had two quick outs,'' manager Tommy Thompson of the Dash said of Johnson's plight in the fifth. "But you've got to learn to pitch through that. That's a part of baseball, too.

 

"And he just left a couple of pitches up, and they hit them. You look at the scorecard, and it doesn't look as good as he pitched. It was one big inning with those crooked numbers, but you know what, he made some really good pitches tonight.

 

"Even though we lost the game, he progressed.''

 

 

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Some Johnson love

 

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/4/23/4...ameday-april-23

 

***Chicago White Sox pitching prospect Erik Johnson had a great start for Double-A Birmingham yesterday, fanning 10 over seven innings of work in a 3-1 victory over Huntsville. He now has a 1.07 ERA with a 25/5 K/BB in 25 innings with just 14 hits allowed. A second round pick from the University of California in 2011, Johnson does not get nearly as much attention as he deserves. He has a low-to-mid-90s fastball, along with a curve, slider, and changeup. He's throwing strikes and has a good statistical track record. Performance and stuff plus an early-round draft pedigree equals prospect. Don't ignore him.
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From my first post....

 

Laumann views Johnson as a workhorse, "a Curt Schilling-type guy who we think is a starter." Johnson could open as high as Class A Kannapolis once they bring him into the organization after Cal's season concludes, but wouldn't be used in relief as 2010 No. 1 pick Chris Sale was employed after being drafted last year.

 

Today, he's arguably the Sox's #1 prospect.

 

9-2 W-L, 2.24 ERA in 17 starts, AA and AAA combined.

100.2 IPs, 92Ks, 27 walks

Has three CGs this year with one SHO.

Currently on the DL with a strained groin.

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From Jim Callis on a recent edition of Ask BA: http://ht.ly/nEhSu

 

What are your thoughts on White Sox righthander Erik Johnson? What is his realistic ceiling? He has excellent numbers this season in both Double-A and Triple-A, but it seems he isn’t talked about much.

 

Alan Johnson

Chicago

 

Newly acquired outfielder Avisail Garcia will lose his prospect status as soon as he gets one more big league at-bat, after which Johnson can make a legitimate claim to being the White Sox’ top prospect. The top starter on California’s 2011 College World Series team, he signed for $450,000 as a second-round pick that summer. He has gone 16-7, 2.35 with a 190-61 K-BB ratio in 203 pro innings, and the only thing that has slowed him down was a mild bout of shoulder fatigue at the start of 2012.

 

Johnson’s realistic ceiling is No. 3 starter. His best pitch is a lively 90-96 mph fastball, and his top secondary offering is a mid-80s cutter/slider. He also throws a curveball and a changeup, and he possesses solid control. The White Sox system gets little publicity because it’s one of the worst in baseball, but Johnson is a legitimate prospect deserving of more attention.

 

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