Posted on July 11, 2008 by Andrew Flynn
Johnson Shines in Return from Tommy John
Josh Johnson allowed three runs in five innings in his return to the Marlins on Friday night. Johnson gave up six hits, but he struck out six batters without issuing a single walk. All three runs scored off him with two outs in the third inning, and two of the runners only reached scoring position by stealing second base. While Johnson typically threw a fastball in the low nineties before Tommy John surgery, he regularly worked in the mid-nineties on Thursday night, something that’s somewhat common after undergoing the procedure. Still, the best course of action with Johnson is probably to stash him until he shows he can pitch well consistently. (Rotoworld)
Marlins beat writer Juan C. Gonzalez of the Sun-Sentinel was tracking Johnson’s pitches, which were a bit faster than his last outing:
Holy smoke, literally.
That was not the Josh Johnson I remember from 2006. Before Tommy John surgery Johnson’s fastball sat in the 90-91 range and occassionally touched 93. I charted each of Johnson’s 87 pitches in his first start back Thursday against the Dodgers. Check out these numbers:
60 fastballs at 93-plus
48 fastballs at 94-plus
25 fastballs at 95-plus
10 at 96; one at 97
Are you kidding me? From whom did orthopedic surgeon James Andrews extract Johnson’s new ligament? Lee Majors, circa 1977?
Even Johnson’s slider was in the 87-88 mph range. Johnson did not throw a pitch at less than 87 mph. His tempo was outstanding, maybe even a bit too fast.
Still not sure how the Dodgers managed to score three runs during his five-inning outing. All came on two-out singles in the third.
The velocity is off the chart, but Johnson’s command is a tick or two off. He threw 64.4 percent of his total pitches for strikes, but he didn’t get that slider over as consistently as he probably would have liked.
All in all, an impressive and encouraging return.
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