Chicago Cubs: Pierce Johnson Could Become Major Weapon in Bullpen

Pierce Johnson may have failed as a starter, but he appears to have a bright future as a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs bullpen is loaded with impact arms. Closer Wade Davis is a stud, and the set-up trio of Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop and Carl Edwards Jr. is about as good as it gets. On top of that, the Cubs have guys like Koji Uehara, Justin Grimm and many other talented pitchers in the mix.

They don’t really need any more impact arms in the pen, but it never hurts to have another. Pierce Johnson may be on his way to joining the Cubs’ impressive mix in the bullpen.

Johnson was the second player ever selected by Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and company with the Cubs (Albert Almora was the first). The Cubs took Johnson in the first-round (43rd overall) of the 2012 draft. He enter the Cubs system as an interesting starting pitching prospect with a lot of upside.

Johnson has pitched well at times in the minors for the Cubs, but he has never reached his full potential as a starter. Johnson will be 26-years-old this season and has never pitched in a big league game. It was time for him to make a change.

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That change happened late last season as the Cubs moved Johnson to the bullpen at Triple-A. Johnson found immediate success and showed much more life on his fastball and breaking ball.

As a starter in Triple-A last season, Johnson had a 7.75 ERA and struck out 8.9 batters per nine innings in 11 starts. Opposing batters hit .294/.406/.494 off of him in those 11 starts.

Johnson’s numbers look much more impressive out of the bullpen. In 11 relief appearances (22.1 innings), Johnson posted a 3.22 ERA and struck out an impressive 14.1 batters per nine innings. Opposing batters only hit .176/.315/.311. His two-pitch mix of an improved fastball and knockout breaking ball played much better in the bullpen.

Now, this is obviously a small sample size, but it is fair to get a bit excited about Johnson. Those numbers as a reliever are impressive. While he still has to work on his control a bit, I see no reason why Johnson can not have a future as a bit-time bullpen piece for the Chicago Cubs.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon appears to agree. Maddon even compars him to Wade Davis who made one of the most successful transitions from starter to reliever in recent history (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times).

"“It’s a different look; it’s a different animal all of a sudden,” Maddon said. “What he had done last year once they put him in the pen, the typical uptick [in velocity], everything. Kind of like a Wade Davis thing.”“I’ve heard nothing but good stuff out of the bullpen with [Johnson],” Maddon said."

Johnson obviously still has a lot of work to do, but there is reason to believe that he could be a legitimately key piece to the Cubs’ bullpen this season. He will probably start the season at Triple-A Iowa, but only because the Cubs have so many strong options already in the bullpen.

Next: Top Cubs' Spring Training Storylines to Watch

However, if Johnson goes down and continues to put up sparkling numbers in the bullpen, he will be on the fast track to Chicago. Pierce Johnson is undoubtedly a guy to keep an eye on this Spring.

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Pierce Johnson Could be Major Bullpen Weapon for 2017 Chicago Cubs

By Dan Schmelzer | Feb 28, 2017

Pierce Johnson may have failed as a starter, but he appears to have a bright future as a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.