Watch: Phillies Top Prospect Shines in Scoreless Outing at Lehigh Valley

The Philadelphia Phillies could have another quality starting pitcher on their hands with this Top 30 prospect at Lehigh Valley.

Sep 8, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Seth Johnson (51) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins in the first inning at loanDepot Park. / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the most respected starting rotations in baseball and it will only get better when top prospect Andrew Painter arrives.

The Phillies had hoped their No. 1 overall prospect would join them in 2023, but an elbow injury led to Tommy John surgery and Painter missed all of last season. The Phillies are managing his ramp up and expect him to be able to help in some capacity this summer.

But he isn’t the only starting pitcher with promise in their minor league system, nor the only one that has managed a difficult road to get within striking distance of the Majors.

Seth Johnson is another. The right-hander is the No. 12 prospect in the system and on Saturday night at Lehigh Valley, he tossed a scoreless outing in his first game of the season.

Seth Johnson today for AAA Lehigh Valley:

5.1 IP | 5 H | 0 ER | 1 BB | 5 K pic.twitter.com/rAaC5uno6Z

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) March 30, 2025

He went 5.1 innings and gave up five hits. He struck out five and walked one.

Johnson is a 26-year-old right-hander from Concord, N.C. He's been in professional baseball since 2019 when the Tampa Bay Rays selected him with the 40th overall pick. While he got a head start later that summer, like all minor leaguers he didn't play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He had a quality season at Class A ball in 2021, as he went 6-6 with a 2.88 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 93.2 innings.

But the next season he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament and that led to Tommy John surgery. That shut him down for the rest of the 2022 season and part of the 2023 season.

While he was recuperating, the Rays included him in a three-team deal that landed him with the Balimore Orioles. While with the Orioles, he reached Triple-A Norfolk during his recovery.

He started last season at Double-A Bowie and went 0-6 with a 2.63 ERA in 18 starts, with 61 strikeouts and 35 walks.

The Orioles included him in the traded for reliever Gregory Soto and the Phillies assigned him to the minor leagues. But Johnson quickly showed he was ready for a Major League call up and he joined the Phillies on Sept. 8. He pitched 2.1 innings in his MLB debut, giving up nine earned runs, eight hits and three walks.

Johnson wasn’t ready then. But he looks like he could be ready to make another appearance with the Phillies this season, if his performance on Saturday is any indication.

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