Ryan Johnson skips the minors on his way to big league debut with the Angels

By: The Associated Press Posted: 5:12 PM CDT Thursday, Mar. 27, 2025 Last Modified: 6:47 PM CDT Thursday, Mar. 27, 2025

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CHICAGO (AP) — Los Angeles Angels reliever Ryan Johnson made his professional debut on Thursday, becoming the 24th player to go from the amateur draft to the major leagues without playing in the minors.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/03/2025 (226 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The 22-year-old Johnson allowed five runs and four hits over 1 2/3 innings in an 8-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The right-hander struck out one and walked one.

Showing no signs of any nerves, Johnson worked a perfect seventh inning. He retired Lenyn Sosa on a grounder to second and struck out Korey Lee looking before Jacob Amaya bounced to shortstop.

Los Angeles Angels' Ryan Johnson throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of a spring training baseball game Monday, March 24, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Johnson stayed in after the Angels wasted a scoring opportunity in the top of the eighth. He gave up a three-run homer to Andrew Benintendi and a two-run shot to Sosa before being removed by manager Ron Washington.

Johnson was a second-round draft pick last year out of Dallas Baptist University. He was taken by the Angels with the compensatory selection they received for losing Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers in free agency.

Johnson made the opening day roster after going 1-0 with a 3.97 ERA in six Cactus League games this spring, striking out 10 in 11 1/3 innings.

The last player to go straight from the draft to the majors was pitcher Garrett Crochet with the White Sox in 2020, when the minor league season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson joins left-hander Jim Abbott in 1989 as the only Angels players to accomplish the feat.