Pierce William Johnson (born May 10, 1991) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Colorado Rockies of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs,

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

and for the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He was drafted by the Cubs in the first round of the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks, first ...

out of Missouri State University.

Amateur career

Johnson was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

in the 15th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft out of Faith Christian Academy in Arvada, Colorado after playing three seasons of varsity baseball. He did not sign and attended Missouri State University. He finished his first year at Missouri State with a 6–5 record to go along with a 4.76 ERA in 75.2 IP. In 2010 and 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

Johnson was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the

2012 Major League Baseball Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks, first ...

. In 2013, he went 11–6 with a 2.74

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

and 124

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

in 118 innings pitched. Prior to the 2014 season, he was ranked by Baseball America as the 87th best prospect in baseball. The Cubs added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season. Johnson spent 2014 with both the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play thei ...

and the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...

where he posted a 5–5 record with a 2.54 ERA. Johnson stayed with the Smokies during the 2015 season, where he posted a 6–2 record with a 2.08 ERA, holding batters to a .223

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. After his success in Tennessee, Johnson was promoted to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, where he posted a 4–6 record with a 6.14 ERA.

San Francisco Giants

On September 20, 2017, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the

. He elected free agency on November 3, 2018.

Hanshin Tigers

On December 8, 2018, Johnson signed with the

(NPB). On December 2, 2019, he become free agent.

San Diego Padres

On December 23, 2019, Johnson signed a two-year contract which includes a third-year club option with the

(MLB). In his first season with San Diego, Johnson recorded a 3-1 record and 2.70 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 20.0 innings. Johnson made 63 appearances for the Padres, logging a 3-4 record and 3.22 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 58.2 innings pitched. On May 9, 2022, Johnson was placed on the 60-day injured list with right elbow tendinitis.

Colorado Rockies

On December 13, 2022, Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Rockies.

References

External links

Missouri State Bears bioProspect Watch: Pierce Johnson making Cubs take notice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Pierce 1991 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona League Cubs players Baseball players from Colorado Boise Hawks players Chicago Cubs players Daytona Cubs players Hanshin Tigers players Harwich Mariners players Iowa Cubs players Kane County Cougars players Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Missouri State Bears baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers People from Arvada, Colorado Sacramento River Cats players San Diego Padres players San Francisco Giants players Tennessee Smokies players