New Top Prospect Says His Time With Philadelphia Phillies is 'Welcome Change'

The Philadelphia Phillies acquired an intriguing pitching prospect at the trade deadline, and he's already enjoying his time with the franchise.

Detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove in the dugout / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Ahead of the trade deadline, it was clear the Philadelphia Phillies were going to be aggressive and upgrade their roster to make sure there were as few holes as possible heading into the playoffs.

Plenty of ideas were thrown around regarding what Dave Dombrowski was going to do, but at the end of the day, the Phillies opted to bring in some bullpen upgrades, ship out some of their own questionable relief pieces, and add a former All-Star outfielder to the equation.

While some in the fanbase were disappointed by Philadelphia not going all in and landing some of the top players who were available, it's hard to argue with what this group had accomplished to that point, so making these types of moves allowed them to keep things in place, while also improve certain areas on the team.

But perhaps the most interesting trade the Phillies pulled off was getting star pitching prospect Seth Johnson from the Baltimore Orioles when they moved Gregory Soto.

Selected No. 40 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2019 draft, the 25-year-old right-hander was considered one of the best minor leaguers in the Orioles' loaded farm system, making his acquisition something to monitor for Philadelphia going forward.

Johnson underwent Tommy John surgery in mid-May of 2022 which limited him to only making five appearances the following season.

However, the North Carolina native seems to have full recovered.

In 23 starts this year, Johnson has posted a 2.33 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a .202 batting average across his 88.2 innings pitched.

Within the Phillies' organization, he made the jump to Triple-A for the first time in his career and has completely dominated with a 0.56 ERA in his three starts.

"So far, he's played the part. I like his demeanor. I like his work ethic. He's a very quiet guy that goes about his business the right way," Triple-A manager Anthony Contreras said about the star prospect according to Ty Daubert of Phillies Nation.

Johnson is now ranked as the No. 15 prospect in Philadelphia's pipeline. That puts him behind their superstar Andrew Painter who is also recovery from Tommy John surgery, Mick Abel who has had major issues this season, and hard-throwing 22-year-old Jean Cabrera.

But Johnson wants to move past the minor league designation, and he's excited he's found a new home with the Phillies.

"It's been chaotic, but it's good. I'm starting to get my feet under me, especially being in the same spot for more than a week. It's been good ... It's a welcome change and I'm happy to be here," he said.

He will certainly be someone to keep an eye on in this organization moving forward.

With there being tons of questions regarding the fifth spot in the rotation next year, there could be an opportunity for Johnson to put his name in the running to take that over with good performances the rest of the way and into the 2025 season.