According to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, the Phillies have called up right-handed starting pitcher prospect Seth Johnson to start Sunday’s game in Miami.
As the No. 5 spot in the Phillies’ starting pitching rotation has become a revolving door, the Phillies and front office chief Dave Dombrowski will now turn to Johnson, 25, who was in Double-A when acquired from the Baltimore Orioles on July 30 but quickly advanced to Triple-A. Looking to move on from lefty reliever Gregory Soto, the team sold him to Baltimore for Johnson and another pitching prospect, Moisés Chace, who was quickly promoted.
Johnson, who is playing his first full season after coming from Tommy John surgery, may not provide the Phillies with much length. But given the way Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Cristopher Sánchez have pitched in recent weeks, with the team hoping Ranger Suárez can find a groove beginning with his start in Miami on Thursday night, that isn’t too much of a concern.
On August 15, the Phillies promoted Johnson to Triple-A, where he has three excellent starts. Johnson has allowed only five hits and one earned run across 16.0 innings for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. During that time, he had a perfect 0.56 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. In 23 minor-league starts in 2024, Johnson has a 2.63 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 88.2 innings. The Phillies appear to be concentrating on stretching his arm out to make him capable of handling a workload similar to that of a regular starter each time he takes the mound, and he has not lost any juice in the process.
This position in the rotation became available again after rookie Tyler Phillips returned to the majors and was pounded by the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Phillips failed to escape the first inning, giving six earned runs, and was optioned back to Lehigh Valley the next day. Previously, opposing lineups often dominated Taijuan Walker.
If Johnson does not perform well in Miami against a poor Marlins lineup, the Phillies will have the option of bringing up left-hander Kolby Allard for the next time the No. 5 position in the rotation is needed. But, for the time being, Johnson has a fantastic opportunity to capitalize on being in an organization that, while having arguably the best quartet of starters in baseball, has been sunk by a lack of starting pitching depth.
