Vanished from radar - the Erik Johnson enigma

[NorthSideSox72]

Don't write off Erik Johnson just yet. Looking at the scenarios, there is a good chance he can still be a contributor in the future. Click that link for the article.

 

Agree? Disagree?

[GGajewski18]

I definitely agree. If he can regain form, Sox would have some rotation issues (but could never have too many), yet use some as trade bait. It'll be interesting how he does next year. Hope for us and the Sox, he's back to his two years ago self.

[Jerksticks]

For me the bottom line is his arm was dead this year. Whether he lost it forever remains to be seen. Seems useless without velocity which is the sad truth for EJ. Hope you find it buddy.

[witesoxfan]

Erik Johnson is very much in the Matt Davidson boat right now. You give him this year to figure it out and improve. Maybe he needs the offseason to recover, or perhaps it was a case of the "yips" where he was uncomfortable pitching and couldn't figure out what to do and everything compounded from there. This is definitely not the time to move him and he could certainly still develop into a capable pitcher for the Sox down the road. Even a move to the bullpen is possible at this point. Don't rule him out, but the Sox and we as fans are definitely in a "wait and see" mode.

[Balta1701]

Erik Johnson is very much in the Matt Davidson boat right now. You give him this year to figure it out and improve. Maybe he needs the offseason to recover, or perhaps it was a case of the "yips" where he was uncomfortable pitching and couldn't figure out what to do and everything compounded from there. This is definitely not the time to move him and he could certainly still develop into a capable pitcher for the Sox down the road. Even a move to the bullpen is possible at this point. Don't rule him out, but the Sox and we as fans are definitely in a "wait and see" mode.

Erik Johnson is very much below Matt Davidson right now. Matt Davidson having a terrible season due to some mental and technical issues I can understand, but I don't know how mental and technical issues make your fastball lose that much velocity.

 

He's not a big league pitcher until he gets his fastball back. If he can do that then he's right back to being a potential rotation contender.

[southsider2k5]

Erik Johnson is very much below Matt Davidson right now. Matt Davidson having a terrible season due to some mental and technical issues I can understand, but I don't know how mental and technical issues make your fastball lose that much velocity.

 

He's not a big league pitcher until he gets his fastball back. If he can do that then he's right back to being a potential rotation contender.

 

Johnson is such an odd case. I would have thought steroids if it were a few years back, but it doesn't make as much sense with minor league testing having been historically more rigid than major league testing. I really wonder if there was an injury that no one talked about that he tried to pitch through. We will find out next year.

 

[Chicago White Sox]

Erik Johnson is very much below Matt Davidson right now. Matt Davidson having a terrible season due to some mental and technical issues I can understand, but I don't know how mental and technical issues make your fastball lose that much velocity.

 

He's not a big league pitcher until he gets his fastball back. If he can do that then he's right back to being a potential rotation contender.

Erik Johnson may be below Davidson right now, but I think he has a much better chance of returning to form in the long-run. Johnson most likely had some sort of injury last year that caused him to lose his stuff. I think it's far more likely he gets healthy next year and his velocity returns than Davidson being able to make the necessary adjustments to overcome his significant contact issues.

[Chisoxfn]

Erik Johnson is very much below Matt Davidson right now. Matt Davidson having a terrible season due to some mental and technical issues I can understand, but I don't know how mental and technical issues make your fastball lose that much velocity.

 

He's not a big league pitcher until he gets his fastball back. If he can do that then he's right back to being a potential rotation contender.

I think the odds of Johnson making a contribution at the major league level are much greater then Davidson contributing. I think at a minimum, you could see him slide to the pen and regain some velocity and have some success out of the pen. There could also be underlying issues that come up which drove the decline in velocity. That may end up shelfing Johnson but I think it is much more likely that happens then Davidson who was just a disaster at a pretty high level of ball, figuring out a way to be a productive player.

[Balta1701]

Erik Johnson may be below Davidson right now, but I think he has a much better chance of returning to form in the long-run. Johnson most likely had some sort of injury last year that caused him to lose his stuff. I think it's far more likely he gets healthy next year and his velocity returns than Davidson being able to make the necessary adjustments to overcome his significant contact issues.

If that were the case, then what was he doing pitching? Why was there no improvement seen during the year?

[LDF]

 

I think both still has a potential to redeem themselves. 2 different positions.

 

Davidson still confuses me. he had a good track record, so I am taking last

yr as a hipcup.

 

but I would like to plan as they will not rebound. the sox can not make the same

mistake as they did last yr, assuming.

[Chisoxfn]

If that were the case, then what was he doing pitching? Why was there no improvement seen during the year?

Arm injuries are not always easy to diagnose, but I personally thought at some point the Sox should have just shut him down. Think back to Danks injury and all the issues there. There could have been a mechanical problem or an issue with strength that they couldn't get over and that with a full off-season and true rest, he'll have a bounce back year. Also, just by moving to the pen he should add some additional velocity which could help him be successful as a reliever (while he may not be successful as a starter).

 

I'm not stating for a fact that I know it but I think there are more pitchers who have bounced back from poor years, drops in velocity, etc, then hitters who put up the results Davidson did.

[BlackSox13]

If indeed Johnson's mechanics changed, I'd say guess that's likely the culprit. Johnson pretty much tanked from the get go so I'm not really sure about the dead arm/ fatigue idea. Maybe a dead arm led to the inadvertent mechanical change? Honestly, I was never impressed with Johnson so it was not surprising to see him fall, just not that hard that fast. I mean, dude dropped like a rock.

 

If I had to take a guess, I'd say his best shot is a reliever as long as he can regain some of that control, velocity and most importantly his confidence. The Sox can use a quality strike thrower in the pen, maybe he can help the team that way.

[BaconOnAStick]

He couldn't throw strikes at the MLB level for some reason (my guess is pressure) so he started slowing down his pitches because he thought it would reestablish his control. It didn't happen. Some guys aren't made to be pros.

 

I would say deal him but he's pretty much worthless, guys like Johnson are a dime a dozen. Just hang on to him hoping he's the 1 in 50 who figures out how to just calm down.

[Donny Lucy's Avocado Farm]

Who cares?

 

He vanished from the radar because he was REALLY bad. THe odds of that suddenly changing aren't good. Sign somebody, with a track record who is righthanded, and move on.

 

 

[caulfield12]

It's pretty hard to go through the scrutiny of the Top 100's prospect list and not have quite a few positives in your favor.

 

You'd rather it was a physical problem (other than the shoulder), because mental issues are much harder to overcome for baseball players, typically. There doesn't seem to be any good explanation out there.

 

It's possible he won't figure it out until he leaves the organization and finds a pitching coach/staff who gets behind him, not unlike so many pitchers who have come under Cooper's wing (Noesi, Guerra and Putnam this year).

[greg775]

Who cares?

 

He vanished from the radar because he was REALLY bad. THe odds of that suddenly changing aren't good. Sign somebody, with a track record who is righthanded, and move on.

 

Erik Johnson was so bad. Man.

Sox have money to spend and could easily swipe needed righty Shields from the Royals' grasp. In fact, it might be wise to steal Shields, Aoki and Butler and take away their mojo. Suddenly we have to worry about the Royals being the new Tigers. Hahn could really strip the mojo by signing those three Royals.

Shields ... 3 years 45 million.

Butler ... 2 years 12 million with option year.

Aoki ... 2 years 10 million.

Is it worth the risk? Throwing 67 million at Royals over 7 years? It's just 26 million to Royals for next season. Sox payroll is fine after adding the 26 mill.

[caulfield12]

Erik Johnson was so bad. Man.

Sox have money to spend and could easily swipe needed righty Shields from the Royals' grasp. In fact, it might be wise to steal Shields, Aoki and Butler and take away their mojo. Suddenly we have to worry about the Royals being the new Tigers. Hahn could really strip the mojo by signing those three Royals.

Shields ... 3 years 45 million.

Butler ... 2 years 12 million with option year.

Aoki ... 2 years 10 million.

Is it worth the risk? Throwing 67 million at Royals over 7 years? It's just 26 million to Royals for next season. Sox payroll is fine after adding the 26 mill.

 

 

Might as well add Victor Martinez too, lol.

 

Shields is getting at least four years, and $65-85 million. You can forget a three year deal.

[southsider2k5]

Erik Johnson was so bad. Man.

Sox have money to spend and could easily swipe needed righty Shields from the Royals' grasp. In fact, it might be wise to steal Shields, Aoki and Butler and take away their mojo. Suddenly we have to worry about the Royals being the new Tigers. Hahn could really strip the mojo by signing those three Royals.

Shields ... 3 years 45 million.

Butler ... 2 years 12 million with option year.

Aoki ... 2 years 10 million.

Is it worth the risk? Throwing 67 million at Royals over 7 years? It's just 26 million to Royals for next season. Sox payroll is fine after adding the 26 mill.

 

Reality called and offered Shields twice that much.

[witesoxfan]

Erik Johnson was so bad. Man.

Sox have money to spend and could easily swipe needed righty Shields from the Royals' grasp. In fact, it might be wise to steal Shields, Aoki and Butler and take away their mojo. Suddenly we have to worry about the Royals being the new Tigers. Hahn could really strip the mojo by signing those three Royals.

Shields ... 3 years 45 million.

Butler ... 2 years 12 million with option year.

Aoki ... 2 years 10 million.

Is it worth the risk? Throwing 67 million at Royals over 7 years? It's just 26 million to Royals for next season. Sox payroll is fine after adding the 26 mill.

 

Just because the Royals are in the World Series doesn't mean you have to sign their entire team.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Erik Johnson was so bad. Man.

Sox have money to spend and could easily swipe needed righty Shields from the Royals' grasp. In fact, it might be wise to steal Shields, Aoki and Butler and take away their mojo. Suddenly we have to worry about the Royals being the new Tigers. Hahn could really strip the mojo by signing those three Royals.

Shields ... 3 years 45 million.

Butler ... 2 years 12 million with option year.

Aoki ... 2 years 10 million.

Is it worth the risk? Throwing 67 million at Royals over 7 years? It's just 26 million to Royals for next season. Sox payroll is fine after adding the 26 mill.

 

 

LOL. Shields will get a 5 year deal around $90 million. I would like more power than Aoki provides out of the other OF and Butler is meh. The guy I'd sign from the Royals is Luke Hochevar.

[ChiSox59]

Erik Johnson was so bad. Man.

Sox have money to spend and could easily swipe needed righty Shields from the Royals' grasp. In fact, it might be wise to steal Shields, Aoki and Butler and take away their mojo. Suddenly we have to worry about the Royals being the new Tigers. Hahn could really strip the mojo by signing those three Royals.

Shields ... 3 years 45 million.

Butler ... 2 years 12 million with option year.

Aoki ... 2 years 10 million.

Is it worth the risk? Throwing 67 million at Royals over 7 years? It's just 26 million to Royals for next season. Sox payroll is fine after adding the 26 mill.

 

Well, this proves that you have zero understanding of the economics of baseball.

[caulfield12]

Crow's another interesting guy that the Royals will probably discard who's pitched well enough to make an All-Star team out of the pen.

 

There's also a 10-15% chance he could be reconverted into a starting pitcher, although I wouldn't cross my fingers too much on that.

Edited October 16, 2014 by caulfield12

[Dick Allen]

Make him a reliever.

[NorthSideSox72]

Make him a reliever.

There's a good chance that it where this goes, but I don't think it makes sense to do so right now. With his stuff as it was last year, he wouldn't be effective there either. So I think you have him starting again in AAA first, and then see what happens. If he's floundering, you have him try to up the velocity early in the game, and see if that is even possible for him. If so, you can slide him to relief.

 

[greg775]

Reality called and offered Shields twice that much.

 

Whomever breaks the bank for Shields is one, dumb GM. He's not dominant and he's getting old. Like I said before, Royals fans didn't even want him as No. 1 starter entering the playoffs. The fans at one point wanted Butler benched for good this season. They also wanted Hosmer sent to the minors. I am NOT kidding. Talk shows for a week were all about sending down Hosmer.

Sox need a righthanded version of Buehrle. Can they find one?