Seth Johnson
Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in a three-player swap that sent underperforming reliever Gregory Soto out of town, 25-year-old starting pitching prospect Seth Johnson was a nice return for a relief pitcher who was talking and pitching his way out of town before the trade deadline.
While Johnson is getting a little old to be considered a true prospect, his minor league numbers point to a pitcher who holds some serious upside. In 22 starts split between Double- and Triple-A for the Orioles and Phillies this season, Johnson is 1-7 with a 2.50 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 22 starts and 82 2/3 innings pitched.
While the win-loss totals look a bit rough, Johnson's solid ERA points to a pitcher who has been on the wrong side of luck this season with low run support and bullpens not getting the job done in relief during his appearances.
Since joining the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies' No. 15 prospect has been superb, posting a sparkling 0.56 ERA and 0.69 WHIP over 16 innings in three starts.
While calling Johnson up on Sept. 1 is not likely, he's an intriguing option as one of the few pitchers in the Phillies system who seems to have a good chance of being a serviceable MLB arm in the near future.