Former Gator Brian Johnson Promoted To Major Leagues By Boston Red Sox
Saturday, July 11, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Former Gator All-American Brian Johnson was called up to the majors by the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. He will be uniform at Fenway Park as Boston wraps up a weekend series against the New York Yankees to complete the first half of the regular season.
The Cocoa Beach, Fla., native becomes the ninth player in head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's tenure at Florida to reach professional baseball's highest level.
He joins left-hander Kevin Chapman (2007-10, Houston Astros), right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (2009-11, Miami Marlins), outfielder Matt den Dekker (2007-10, New York Mets, now with the Washington Nationals), infielder Cole Figueroa (2007-08, Tampa Bay Rays, now with the New York Yankees), left-hander Nick Maronde (2009-11, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), left-hander Steven Rodriguez (2010-12, Los Angeles Dodgers), outfielder Preston Tucker (2009-12, Houston Astros) and catcher Mike Zunino (2010-12, Seattle Mariners).
Johnson had recently been playing for the Pawtucket (R.I.) Red Sox of the Triple-A International League, where he was 8-6 with a 2.73 earned run average in 16 starts spanning 85.2 innings.
Johnson totaled 81 strikeouts and issued 26 walks, while limiting opponents to a .217 batting average. Johnson was taken in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft at No. 31 overall by Boston and helped the Gators to three consecutive NCAA College World Series appearances for the first time in school history from 2010-12.
A first-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Perfect Game in 2012, Johnson was a second-team All-American by Baseball America and Louisville Slugger and captured the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year that season.
Chosen first-team All-SEC in both 2011 and 2012, Johnson was 8-5 with a 3.90 ERA and had 73 strikeouts in 90 innings, to go along with a .307 clip, 41 RBI, 24 runs, 13 doubles and six homers.
Johnson tossed his first career complete game to oust fourth-ranked South Carolina from the 2012 SEC Tourney and matched his career high with four hits in the semifinal round the following day against Vanderbilt. He was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team at both pitcher and designated hitter.
During the 2012 NCAA Gainesville Regional, Johnson limited the high-powered Georgia Tech offense to one run on three hits over five innings as the Gators cruised to a 15-3 victory over the Jackets to punch their fourth straight ticket to Super Regionals. Johnson batted .429 (3-for-7) in the sweep of No. 11 NC State and tied the second encounter with the Wolfpack with a solo homer in the eighth inning of Florida's eventual 9-8 triumph in 10 innings.
In 2011, Johnson was a semifinalist for both the John Olerud Award and the Dick Howser Trophy and was chosen to the Watch List for the Golden Spikes Award.
He was 8-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 79.2 innings. He appeared in 16 games, with 15 starts, registered 72 strikeouts and permitted 15 walks and had a .307 average with 29 RBI, 26 runs, 21 walks, 11 doubles and five homers. He started in all 10 SEC series and was 4-3 with a 4.67 ERA in 54 innings, notching 43 strikeouts. Johnson hit .330 in league play with 12 runs, 12 RBI, 10 walks and five doubles.
During his rookie season in 2010, Johnson was chosen as a Freshman All-American by Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, NCBWA and Yahoo! Sports and he made the SEC's All-Freshman Team as both a starting pitcher and at designated hitter.
Johnson departed Gainesville with a pitching record of 22-12 (.647) in 49 appearances and 46 starts covering 243.1 innings. He compiled an ERA of 3.85 and totaled 196 strikeouts. At the plate, Johnson hit .324 with 91 RBI, 63 runs, 41 walks, 29 doubles, 15 homers and three triples. He had a fielding percentage of .990, with just two errors in 208 chances.
Besides Johnson, there are nine other players with UF ties currently in the majors: den Dekker (Nationals), DeSclafani (Reds), Figueroa (Yankees), right-hander Darren O'Day (Baltimore Orioles), outfielder Ryan Raburn (Cleveland Indians), catcher David Ross (Chicago Cubs), Rodriguez (Dodgers), Tucker (Astros) and Zunino (Mariners).
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