play
Taylor Ward walks it off for the Angels (0:58)
Taylor Ward's ninth-inning RBI single gives the Angels a 5-4 win over the Dodgers. (0:58)
Right-hander Ryan Johnson made the Los Angeles Angels' Opening Day roster and is expected to debut in the major leagues without having played a single minor league game, sources told ESPN.
Johnson, who is 22 and was drafted in the second round last year, signed for $1.75 million but did not pitch after throwing 106 innings in his junior season at Dallas Baptist. Once he debuts -- Johnson is expected to work out of the bullpen -- he would be the first player to skip the minor leagues entirely since Garrett Crochet, who joined the Chicago White Sox in 2020, when the minor league season was canceled because of COVID-19.
Johnson will be only the third player since 2001 to play in the big leagues without a minor league appearance, joining Crochet and right-hander Mike Leake (2010). Since the implementation of the draft in 1965, only 23 players before Johnson have been moved straight to the big leagues.
The Angels' bullpen currently includes veteran closer Kenley Jansen, hard-throwing Ben Joyce and right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn, who in a dozen games last year as a rookie posted a 2.12 ERA. With a fastball that has touched 100 mph and a hard slider upon which he relies, Johnson won the job with a stellar spring in which he struck out 10 and walked just one over 11⅓ innings, with a 3.97 ERA.
The aggressiveness in promoting Johnson aligns with the Angels' organizational philosophy that has seen players rocket through the system. First baseman Nolan Schanuel made his major league debut just 40 days after the Angels took him with the 11th pick in the 2023 draft. Shortstop Zach Neto played only 44 games for the Angels before his April 15, 2023, promotion. Second baseman Christian Moore, Los Angeles' first-round pick last year, spent 23 games at Double-A to end the 2024 season.
At 6-foot-6 and with a funky, high-energy delivery and elite deception, Johnson struck out 151 batters and walked 14 for Dallas Baptist and won Conference USA Player of the Year. Johnson is the 10th-best prospect in the Angels' organization, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel's farm system rankings.
