Former SF Giants prospect resurfaces in American Association after 4-year hiatus

This was a surprising name to see show up on the transaction wire for the American Association. According to the league site, former SF Giants pitching prospect Jordan Johnson has signed with the Milwaukee Milkmen.

Former SF Giants prospect resurfaces in American Association after 4-year hiatus

Even more surprising than this was seeing that Johnson had already pitched for Milwaukee last season. He posted a 2.25 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 13 walks in 44 innings during his first run with the club.

That was Johnson's first appearance in pro ball since 2019. He spent that season with the Cincinnati Reds organization. Most of the work came in Double-A, where he tallied a 6.98 ERA in nine starts for the Chattanooga Lookouts.

The Reds did send him to the Arizona Fall League that same year, where has pitched to a 3.32 ERA in five outings for the Glendale Desert Dogs. That assignment is usually a sign that a team values a prospect and wants him to continue getting reps. However, he was released in 2020, as many organizations wrestled with the idea of paying minor league salaries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were a few exceptions to this, and some players even got involved, such as David Price, who offered to pay minor league salaries during the pandemic. Teams could afford those salaries, but many organizations decided to cut costs by releasing a lot of minor leaguers. The Giants and Reds were no different in following this path.

For a lot of minor leaguers, that marked the end of the road in baseball. There was no sense of when minor league baseball would return to normalcy, so they pursued other careers. Jordan Johnson was included in this, as he transitioned to a career in sales for OpenSpace before returning to the mound. OpenSpace is a platform that assists in construction.

The Giants originally drafted the 31-year-old hurler in the 23rd round of the 2014 draft out of Cal State Northridge. He was selected in a round that no longer exists.

Despite the lack of a draft pedigree, Johnson was often considered one of the top pitching prospects in the Giants' system during some lean years. His best year came in 2018, when he posted a 4.06 ERA in 26 outings split across Double-A and Triple-A.

The Giants shipped Johnson to the Reds in a trade that sent Connor Joe to San Francisco. The Reds originally selected Joe from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft in 2018, so his status remained unchanged following the deal. Joe only accumulated 16 plate appearances before being sent back to the Dodgers.

Johnson had been throwing in the Mexican League earlier in the season, and even had a stint in the Puerto Rican Winter League in the offseason. He has recorded one scoreless outing since rejoining Milwaukee.