Bryce Johnson could have played Division I college football as an outside receiver. His junior season highlight reel from high school show him dusting defensive backs on comebacks, outs and fly routes.
But Johnson chose baseball. So instead of peeling down sidelines, he’s roaming the outfield grass. He hasn’t manned one as expansive as Oracle Park, where he’ll make his MLB debut on Wednesday night against the Dodgers. But the Giants, and Johnson, are confident he won’t have trouble covering ground.
“The name of the game for me is speed,” Johnson, 26, told reporters in the Giants clubhouse.
Scouting reports from players around the Giants’ clubhouse who have crossed paths with Johnson included the words “stud athlete,” “outrageous in the outfield,” and “toolsy.”
Just Tuesday night, Johnson made a ridiculous, diving catch for the River Cats.
“Sometimes they say I fly,” Johnson said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not flying, and I’m still flying.”
Johnson found out the Giants selected his contract right before Sacramento’s game. He was in full uniform, ready to play.
At Sam Houston State, Johnson became a switch-hitter. He’s naturally right-handed and has a 1.015 OPS this year against lefties, but hitting from the other side allows him to use his speed with bunts.
The switch-hitting aspect boosted his draft stock, but is still a work in progress, Johnson said. San Francisco drafted him in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. This year, he’s hitting .283 and has stolen 24 bases in 28 tries.
The Giants’ development staff and big-league coaches have discussed the idea of elevating Johnson for quite some time, manager Gabe Kapler said. It’s clear why: San Francisco’s outfield defense has been lacking.
Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater are both more suited for the corners, but have each played a fair amount of center. Many of SF’s designated hitter-types — Darin Ruf, Yermín Mercedes and Joc Pederson — have also been overextended. LaMonte Wade Jr. and Luis González are athletic but have struggled.
Against the Dodgers Tuesday night, Wade and González each got late jumps and dove too late on catchable balls. Slater also made a fielding error, bobbling a ball on the center field grass.
Johnson won’t fix everything immediately, and he likely won’t play every day anyways, but inserting him could help.
“By having Bryce out there in center, it allows Slater to slide to a corner,” Kapler said. “It just kind of makes the outfield collectively stronger…It just might make everybody else a little bit better to have that stability in center field.”
- Brandon Crawford played in consecutive rehab games, Tuesday and Wednesday. He came out okay but feeling a bit sore, Kapler said. Crawford could be activated for Saturday’s game in Oakland, taking advantage of a rare day off Friday.
- Joc Pederson ran the bases pregame, indicating his progressing well from his concussion. The Giants are optimistic both he and Thairo Estrada can return from the concussion IL this weekend.
- Sam Long was optioned down to Triple-A Sacramento and will get stretched out to start there, Kapler said. He’ll begin with 50 pitches and increase by roughly 15 from there. Since Matt Boyd was traded to Seattle, the Giants could use some extra rotation depth. Long has a 3.61 ERA this season in a hybrid bullpen role, but has curiously struggled against lefties recently.