Angels' Ryan Johnson follows in the footsteps of the last pitcher to skip the minors

The Angels' decision to put 2024 draft pick Ryan Johnson on the opening day roster without ever stepping foot on a minor league field is history-making. Johnson will become just the 24th player in baseball history to go straight to the majors after being drafted.

The signs that Johnson could make a rapid ascension have been there for a while. At 6-foot-6, Johnson has the lanky build you like to see from a pitcher, and his deceptive and herky-jerky delivery makes his stuff play up and keeps hitters off balance.

Now a member of the Angels' bullpen, the question becomes what can Johnson ultimately become in the bigs? The 22-year-old's impressive spring indicated that he's major league ready, however, without any minor-league seasoning much of his development will come at the highest level and it will be important to remember he's far from a finished product.

The last player to make this leap was Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet who was one of the more hotly discussed players this offseason as he was eventually traded by the White Sox to Boston.

Crochet, a lanky lefty, made his debut in 2020 after being selected in the first round that same year as a member of the White Sox bullpen. He would go on to be a bullpen piece for the team before transitioning to a starting pitcher in 2024 and blossoming into one of the game's premier aces.

Can Ryan Anderson follow in Garrett Crochet's footsteps and become a future Angels' ace?

Crochet landed the White Sox a massive haul in one of the offseason's biggest trades because he was utterly dominant in 2024. Making 32 starts and logging 146 innings, the 25-year-old struck out 12.88 batters per nine, while posting a 3.58 ERA and 2.69 FIP.

Featuring a high-octane fastball and a devastating slider, Crochet has realized his full potential as a bona fide top-of-the-rotation starter, however, he wasn't always as polished. In their scouting report on Crochet back in 2021, Baseball America noted that while those two pitches were highly effective, the rest of his repertoire was lacking.

"Crochet threw his fastball nearly 85% of the time in his debut, but he also has a power slider in the mid 80s. The White Sox tweaked his grip to give it a more consistent break and help it play as a plus pitch. Crochet’s low-90s changeup is extremely firm and a below-average pitch he’ll need to improve in order to start."

Baseball America

At that time, his ability to eventually come into his own as a starter was in question, and he needed to add to his secondary pitches in order to make that leap.

Johnson has the same sort of high-strikeout upside. On the strength of his 2024 season at Dallas Baptist University, he became both the school's single-season and all-time strikeout record holder. Scouts have noted that his own fastball-slider combo is dominant, much like Crochet's, and while his average fastball velocity might be slightly lower, he also has the ability to reach back and touch 100 miles per hour when he needs to.

In addition to his fastball and slider, which he generated whiffs on more than half the time in college, Johnson has an above-average cutter to go along with a fringy curve and an average changeup that he utilizes against lefties.

His five-pitch arsenal certainly has the look of a starting pitcher's, and already seems more advanced than Crochet's was at the time of his debut.

Instead of the development of his secondary offerings being the question that may limit Johnson to the bullpen, the question will be whether or not his funky delivery can work as a starter. While that delivery adds to his deception, it might make it difficult to navigate a lineup multiple times due to its high-effort nature.

Johnson could fall flat on his face and be demoted to the minors within a month. He could also prove to be a dominant reliever and find a home in the pen for years to come. As a young player with no professional experience, there is a wide range of potential outcomes.

However, in the best-case scenario, he absolutely could become the next Garrett Crochet, honing his craft in the bullpen for the next couple of years before transitioning to a starter and becoming an ace. Time will tell if that will be his path, but he has the stuff and repertoire to make it happen, making him a very valuable piece for the Angels both in the present and the future.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout