Will Johnston

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Athletics #18 prospect in 2025
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Johnston mostly pitched out of the bullpen over three seasons at Texas A&M before the Athletics drafted him in the 13th round in 2023 and signed him for just $150,000. They stretched him out over the offseason and deployed him as part of their bulk-inning tandem grouping at the lower levels to successful results in 2024. Johnston posted a 3.88 ERA and 137 strikeouts to 40 walks over 99.2 innings and reached Double-A Midland to end the year.
  
  Scouting Report: The 6-foot-3 lefty deploys a deceptive north-south attack that keys off his outlier vertical arm slot. Johnston’s low-90s fastball is thrown with nearly 19 inches of induced vertical break from that over-the-top angle and is at its best staying above bats at the top of the zone. He pairs it with a 79-83 mph split-changeup that flashes above-average shape and tunnels well off the fastball. The A’s worked with him to throw it with more conviction against lefties. His third offering is a fringy low-80s slider with some vertical movement. Johnston has thrown enough strikes so far to suggest he could stay in a starting role.
  
  The Future: Developing a better breaking ball—and perhaps adding a tick more velocity—would certainly help Johnston stay on a back-of-the-rotation track. He has a fallback as a funky multi-inning reliever.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50.