[Baltimore Sun] Orioles minor league report: Seth Johnson, two years removed from Tommy John surgery, is pushing for a call-up
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When Seth Johnson thinks back to two summers ago, when he was traded and went under the knife, he can only contrast that time to his current situation.
The Orioles acquired the right-hander two days before he was scheduled to undergo Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament. His life had been uprooted in more ways than one in the span of a week. He knew the daunting journey that lay ahead.
Now, nearly 24 months after the operation and trade, Johnson is midway through his first full season with the organization and thriving. He finally has the stability he longed for with Double-A Bowie after he experienced anything but in recent years. With each scoreless outing more dominant than the last, he closes in on a promotion.
Already on the Orioles’ 40-man roster, Johnson is armed with unabashed confidence and an arsenal that might play up even better in the bullpen. Those traits could land him in Baltimore soon.
“The word I always use is ‘whirlwind’ because there were a lot of moving parts,” he said. “Now I feel very settled and at home.”
The Orioles acquired Johnson from the Tampa Bay Rays at the 2022 deadline in the three-team deal that sent Trey Mancini to the Houston Astros and also returned right-hander Chayce McDermott.
Johnson missed a call from a Rays staffer to inform him of the trade while on a flight to Texas to get the surgery. He called back while at an airport rental car center and learned he was headed to the Orioles, who Johnson and his family had tickets to see play the Texas Rangers that night. They bought them beforehand and laughed about the coincidence all night.
The right-hander returned to game action in August, pitching one game with the Florida Complex League and another at Low-A Delmarva. He made two starts with High-A Aberdeen and one in Bowie’s last regular-season series.
His numbers were uneven in those appearances, but it gave Johnson a glimpse at what he’d been missing out on. Getting true feedback from live hitters after going months with only tossing bullpen sessions told him what he needed to work on entering 2024.
“It was really important and beneficial for me,” Johnson said. “When you’re throwing bullpens twice a week for six months, you don’t really work on the same things you work on in games. It gave me a good way to see where I’m at.”
“I’m starting to get my feet under me again,” Orioles pitching prospect Seth Johnson said two years after having Tommy John surgery. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff)
The 25-year-old spent this spring in major league camp for the second straight year. All he could do was watch from afar while sidelined in 2023. This season, he threw alongside Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez and other Orioles star pitchers, spending that time picking their brains and studying how they trained to prepare for his first full season with his new organization.
Johnson has a 3.07 ERA in 13 starts and 48 strikeouts in 44 innings for the Baysox this season. He’s allowed more than one earned run once in his past seven outings.
His leash is slowly growing as Bowie ramps him up — he’s thrown at least 65 pitches or gone four or more innings in six of his past seven starts. And Johnson’s velocity and spin rate marks are where they should be and indicate a healthy arm, he said.
“I’m starting to get my feet under me again,” he said. “Whenever I feel good and the metrics line up, that’s always nice when you can match the real versus the feel. They’re both [spin rate and velocity] in a good spot right now.”
His mid-90s mph fastball that can reach 98 and mid-80s slider, which he leans on more than his curveball and changeup that are more works in progress, combine for an effective strikeout combination. That could be a formula that pushes him to Baltimore’s bullpen quickly, especially given his age, the Orioles’ recent injuries and already being on the 40-man roster, which the team put him on this winter to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
“He’s a very confident version of himself right now,” Bowie pitching coach Austin Meine said. “The last month has been a really good indicator for him in terms of really finding his stride.”
There were points during his year-long recovery in which Johnson’s confidence wavered. He knew he would return to the mound eventually, but questions about whether he’d be the same pitcher again — the one the Orioles traded for — occasionally clouded his mind.
Those are gone now. Johnson, healthy and comfortable, is the pitcher Baltimore wanted.
Orioles prospect Coby Mayo continues to crush Triple-A pitching. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot)
The top prospect not featured so far
Coby Mayo returned to Triple-A Norfolk’s lineup last week after a lengthy recovery from a broken rib he suffered on May 16 and immediately resumed his stellar season. The infielder has hit .350 with a 1.035 OPS since rejoining the Tides, including going 3-for-4 with a home run night on Friday. That came after he slugged three homers in his four games with High-A Aberdeen during his rehab assignment. Mayo was in contention for a call-up at the time of his injury, a move that could now return to the forefront as he proves the setback is behind him.
International acquisition of the week
Low-A Delmarva is at the bottom of their division’s standings for the third consecutive season, but that hasn’t stopped some Shorebirds from putting together impressive campaigns. Infielder Aron Estrada posted a slash line of .375/.464/.750 with a pair of home runs over his past six games and was named the Carolina League Player of the Week. Estrada, whom the Orioles signed in 2022 for $175,000, is in his first full professional season after spending last year in the Florida Complex League and has a .282 average with seven homers on the season.
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Time to give a shoutout to …
Frederick Bencosme hit .316 and got on base at a .435 clip last week for Double-A Bowie, both of which led the team, in a stretch the 21-year-old hopes turns around his otherwise up-and-down season. The infielder, Baltimore’s No. 28 prospect, has a .234 average and .655 OPS in his first year with the Baysox. He’s the third youngest player on the team but is playing nearly every day, splitting time between shortstop and second base.
Farm files
Samuel Basallo was removed from Double-A Bowie’s game Sunday, but it wasn’t because of an injury. The catcher missed most of the spring with an elbow fracture, returned as a first baseman and designated hitter in March and began catching again in April. Basallo, the Orioles’ third-ranked prospect and MLB’s 18th best according to Baseball America, is at the center of trade speculation as the deadline nears and with his chances of remaining at catcher long term for Baltimore in question. … Infielder Mac Horvath, the Orioles’ No. 16 prospect, was removed from High-A Aberdeen’s game Friday night with a left wrist injury and has not played since.
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