With Ryan Johnson, Will Angels’ Aggressive Pitching Approach Finally Pay Off?
Image credit: Ryan Johnson (Photo by Griffin Quinn/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Ryan Johnson’s leap from draftee to big league pitcher took just eight months and exactly zero MiLB games.
But the Angels’ 2024 second-round pick’s Saturn V-like ascent to the big leagues, while unusual for baseball as a whole, is not all that shocking for the Angels. This marks the fifth time in the past five seasons that the team has promoted a pitcher to the majors in less than 14 months after his draft date.
For the rest of MLB combined over that time, there have been six pitchers to make it to the big leagues that quickly.
Johnson made his MLB debut on Opening Day. It was one he won’t remember too fondly. After retiring the White Sox in order in the seventh, he gave up a pair of singles before surrendering an Andrew Benintendi three-run home run. After a walk, he then gave up a two-run homer to Lenyn Sosa. At that point, with the score 8-1, the Angels replaced Johnson with infielder Nicky Lopez.
Johnson left having allowed five runs in 1.2 innings for a 27.00 ERA.
Hopefully for Johnson, this will be only a rough first day in what becomes a strong rookie season. But the track record of other pitchers the Angels have sped to the majors hasn’t been great.
Righthander Ben Joyce, the team’s 2022 third-round pick, struggled in 2023, but he was a useful reliever in 2024 and should be a key part of the team’s bullpen this year. He’s the success story.
The other three—Chase Silseth, Reid Detmers and Victor Mederos—have not had as much success.
Silseth, an 11th-round pick in 2021, struggled in 2022, going 1-3, 6.59 with a 5.97 FIP in seven starts. He had a better season in 2023, finishing 4-1, 3.96 with a 4.96 FIP, but he then missed almost all of 2024 with an elbow injury. Nearing arbitration, he’s so far produced 0.2 bWAR. He was demoted to Triple-A after posting a 10.38 ERA this spring.
Similarly, Detmers, the team’s 2020 first-round pick, struggled in 2021, going 1-3, 7.40 with a 6.36 FIP. He was better in 2022 (7-6, 3.77 with a 3.79 FIP), but he took a step back in 2023 (4-10, 4.48, 4.13 FIP). In 2024, he eventually lost his starting job and was demoted after going 4-9, 6.70 (4.72 FIP). Overall, he’s produced 3.2 bWAR in 75 MLB starts. He’s now expected to pitch out of the Angels’ bullpen, having lost the competition for the fifth-starter role.
Mederos went 0-1, 10.80 in seven appearances in 8.1 innings between 2023 and 2024. The righthander is slated to pitch in Triple-A to start 2025.
It’s impossible to know how these Angels arms might have developed on a slower path. But it is worth pointing out that the six pitchers from other MLB teams who recently moved this quickly several are among the best pitchers in the game.
Garrett Crochet, Spencer Strider and Paul Skenes all were extremely fast movers. The other three are Blue Jays RHP Jake Bloss, who has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to start 2025, Braves LHP Hurston Waldrep, set to pitch for Triple-A Gwinnett, and Rockies righthander Seth Halvorsen, who made the Rockies’ Opening Day roster.
