Angels recall Ryan Johnson to start on Thursday

All five runs came in the first. After a clean single to start the inning, novice outfielder Christian Moore botched Nick Kurtz’s fly to left for a double and back-to-back homers followed. Johnson finally escaped the frame after 35 pitches and then never gave up any extra-base hits or walks afterwards. His career ERA actually dropped from 10.17 to 9.96 with the performance. He’ll probably be sent down for a fresh arm Friday, but we’ll see.

Johnson returns to the minors after allowing eight runs over five innings across three relief appearances since returning from the injured list on May 15. The 23-year-old still has a chance to eventually emerge as a back-end rotation arm for the Angels but the results haven’t been there in the majors over the last two years.

Johnson was put on the injured list back on April 6th with a viral infection, but then was pulled from his rehab start the next week with a hamstring strain. He restarted his rehab assignment at the beginning of the month and will now return to a spot on the Angels’ active roster, with Drew Pomeranz headed to the IL. Johnson will be an option for the final spot in the rotation that’s currently being held by Alek Manoah, who has been pitching in bulk relief.

Johnson was pulled off his rehab assignment two weeks ago because of a hamstring issue, but the right-hander has recovered and faced live hitting in Arizona. The 23-year-old will likely need a few rehab appearances before being ready to join the Angels’ pitching staff.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki told reporters Johnson will undergo further evaluation and testing after feeling a tweak in his hamstring. The 23-year-old threw just two pitches prior to departing the contest. Johnson has been on the shelf since early April recovering from a viral infection.

Johnson winds up requiring a trip to the injured list after being scratched from Sunday’s start against the Mariners due to illness. The 23-year-old’s absence seems to pave the way for pitching prospect George Klassen to get some run in the rotation for at least another turn or two.

There had been speculation when George Klassen was announced as the starter on Sunday that Johnson was simply getting booted from the rotation after being shelled in his first start, but it sounds like he’s just a bit under the weather. No word yet on when he’ll take his next turn in the Halos’ rotation.

Left-hander Joey Lucchesi was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Klassen will be thrown right into the fire for the Angels, starting on Sunday against the Mariners. It’s unclear if Ryan Johnson is being bumped from the rotation entirely after his poor season debut, or simply getting pushed back. Klassen, 24, posted a 6.43 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 14/9 K/BB ratio over 14 innings during five appearances in Cactus League play.

Johnson wasn’t particularly sharp in his season debut, walking four batters and only notching a pair of strikeouts. However, he didn’t get any help from his fielders on several occasions, most notably with two outs in the opening frame when a pop up to shallow center field inexplicably got over the head of second baseman Oswald Peraza, allowing a pair of runs to score on the play. Yoán Moncada committed a mental mistake in the third inning that led directly to another two runs crossing the plate. Neither play technically goes down as an error, but they certainly didn’t help matters. He’ll aim for better results against the Mariners at home on Sunday to finish off a two-start week.

The 74th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Johnson is going to make the Angels for the second year in a row, even though he spent the rest of the year in High-A ball after his demotion last May. He ends a nice spring with a 3.05 ERA and a 23/5 K/BB in 20 2/3 innings. We still doubt he’s ready to be an adequate major league starter this year, but he might get there someday.