MIKE JOHNSTON

3/30/79; '98 20th; Garrett (MD) CC
L/L; 6-3, 180

Level	W-L-Sv	G	GS	IP	H	BB	K	ERA
1998 A-	0-0-0	2	0	2.0	4	1	2	4.50
1998 R	1-2-0	13	3	29.2	28	10	17	3.34
1999 A-	3-2-2	14	2	42.1	46	18	30	4.25
2000 A	4-2-2	26	0	50.2	66	30	52	6.22
2001 A+	4-4-0	11	10	62.0	66	24	44	3.34
2001 A	4-5-0	16	16	93.0	88	42	80	3.38
2002 A+	4-2-0	15	10	57.0	50	26	50	3.53
2003 AA	6-2-7	46	0	72.1	49	27	65	2.12
2004 NL	0-3-0	24	0	22.2	29	15	18	4.37
2004 AAA	0-0-0	19	0	15.0	19	13	6	8.40

Level	W-L-Sv	G	GS	IP	H	BB	K	ERA	OAVG	OOBP	OSLG
2005 NL	0-0-0	1	0	1.0	4	0	2	36.00	.571	.571	1.429
2005 AAA	2-1-0	52	0	57.2	43	30	52	2.97	.208	.318	.319

Johnston, like Jeff Bennett and John Grabow, made a very successful transition to the bullpen in 2003. He's a hard thrower, hitting as high as 96. He was somewhat erratic as a starter, partly due to control problems. As a reliever, although he still at times had trouble throwing strikes, he allowed very few hits and had a good K rate. He even made the Eastern League mid-season All-Star team, which is surprising for a middle reliever. After a fairly good showing in the Arizona Fall League, he was placed on the 40-man roster. Like John Grabow, he made the major league roster in spring 2004 as a long shot when the veteran lefties in camp imploded. He pitched extremely well at first, but started to struggle with his control and also started getting hit hard. Some of his problems stemmed from the fact that he lacked an effective offspeed pitch and became too reliant on trying to throw his fastball past hitters. He eventually went on the DL with a sore elbow. When he went to Nashville on rehab, he pitched very poorly. He apparently suffered a loss of velocity and was also affected by the fact that the Pirates had him working on a slider to replace his curve. He was not called up in September, but was sent to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. He started off slowly there, but pitched very well toward the end, as his velocity was back to the low- to mid-90s and the Pirates believed he was making progress with his breaking ball.

Johnston's chance of winning back his spot on the Pirates was derailed in March by a blister, so he started off at Indianapolis. Other than a brief, rather disastrous callup he spent the year there. He had a good but not overwhelming season. He held opposing hitters to 208/318/319, but still had control problems at times. He was shut down late in the season with arm problems; I haven't seen any information on the nature of the problem. Johnston is an impressive success story, as he's had to overcome Tourette's Syndrome, which causes facial ticks. He's worked to prevent it from affecting him on the mound. As a power LHP who can pitch effectively to RH as well as LH batters, Johnston has a great deal of potential, so the Pirates undoubtedly will give him every chance to return to the majors. Assuming he's healthy, he should have a good shot at making the major league roster in 2006.

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