2020 Could Be a Complicated Year for Cleveland Indians Prospect Daniel Johnson

Daniel Johnson has been doing whatever he can to get a chance at the Major League level with the Indians since they traded for him from Washington. With everything that is going into the 2020 campaign, it's going to be tough for the youngster to break through for the Tribe, but there are some things he can do to push him towards getting that chance.

Heading into spring training, the biggest task Daniel Johnson faced was earning a major league roster spot. The Cleveland Indians prospect impressed in Triple-A last season, but standing out among the team’s hoard of outfielders figured to be quite an uphill battle.

With a sprained ankle limiting him to just 17 plate appearances before baseball was suspended, Johnson didn’t make much ground this spring.

Yet, with MLB considering roster expansion as part of its plans to launch the 2020 season, he might still get his chance to play for Cleveland this summer.

Unfortunately for Johnson, the situation is a little more complicated than it seems.

One of the key returns in the 2018 trade of Yan Gomes, Johnson wasted little time standing out in Cleveland’s minor league system. His time with Double-A Akron last season was brief, as it took him just 39 games to earn a promotion to Columbus.

Johnson quickly proved he was ready for such a jump. He finished his first stint in Triple-A with a .306/.371/.496 slash line, posting above average numbers in wOBA (.371), wRAA (10.1) and wRC+ (120).

Though MLB Pipeline ranks him as the Indians’ No. 13 prospect, Johnson is arguably one of the most big league-ready options on their farm.

His stats from last year certainly support said argument. With outfield being one of the biggest concerns on Cleveland’s roster, it wasn’t a leap to assume Johnson’s arrival to the majors was just a matter of time.

As mentioned, should the league move forward with roster expansion this summer, Johnson could open the year in Cleveland.

Even if that takes place, though, he may still find himself drawing the short straw when it comes to getting time on the field.

We still don’t have clarity on how much larger rosters will be in 2020. For the sake of the argument, let’s go with what The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal initially reported and say they’ll be expanded to 50 players.

This means teams would essentially be doubling their active rosters, which should make just enough room to fit every player who was fighting for a spot in Cleveland’s outfield this spring.

Johnson would likely be joined by Jordan Luplow, Oscar Mercado, Franmil Reyes, Domingo Santana, Jake Bauers, Delino DeShields Jr., Tyler Naquin, Bradley Zimmer and Greg Allen.

So, while he’d have found his way to the majors, opportunities would likely be few and far between for Johnson.

For one, of all the Cleveland outfielders mentioned above, Johnson is the only one without any big league experience. This could automatically put him at the back of the line.

Likewise, the Indians are entering 2020 with various goals in place for several of their outfielders.

These include developing Bauers' new plate approach, providing more opportunities for Luplow to face right-handed pitching, getting Zimmer reacclimated to the majors in the wake of a lengthy injury hiatus and ramping Naquin up to full speed after he missed all of spring training recovering from an ACL tear.

One would think these projects only put Johnson even further onto the back burner.

Finally, with less games to work with this season, managers will be focused on finding a consistently reliable lineup as soon as possible. There may be some experimenting early, but it’s tough to imagine this lasting long in a season which could be in the range of 80-100 games.

So, even if Johnson lands in the Indians’ clubhouse, it may not result in him getting onto the field much.

Theoretically, receiving extremely limited playing time with Cleveland may still end up being a best case scenario for him.

While cautious optimism continues to grow about a 2020 MLB campaign taking place, the same can’t be said for the minors. If MiLB season is cancelled, Johnson would be one of the many prospects who sees his development put on hold.

Knowing that, even if he’s unable to get in the lineup, Johnson can still benefit from training with the Tribe this summer. It’s not glamorous, but it’s better than nothing.

It also highlights just how complicated this year may become for one of Cleveland’s more intriguing prospects.

Johnson will have little opportunity to develop if there’s no minor league season, and likely wouldn’t get many chances even if he makes the Indians’ expanded roster. It’s certainly not an ideal spot for someone who appeared to be right on the cusp of his major league debut.

That still may take place for Johnson this year. It just won’t be as straightforward as he was hoping.