DBU's Johnson Named to Angels' Opening Day Roster, Becomes a Part of MLB History

DBU Baseball's Ryan Johnson has been named to the Los Angeles Angels Opening Day roster. Johnson, the Patriots' all-time strikeout leader, was drafted in the second round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft and becomes just the 24th player in MLB history to reach the Major Leagues without playing one game in the minors, and the first since Garrett Crochet in 2020. The last Angel to do it was left-hander Jim Abbott in 1989.

For Johnson, the call to the majors came faster than he ever imagined. "It's a crazy road," Johnson said after hearing the news on Tuesday. "It's just unreal, not at all how I pictured it. Thought it would be more [like] three, four years down the road and just planning for the long haul. But it's just crazy, going fast."

While his meteoric rise may have come as a surprise to him, Angels' manager Ron Washington feels Johnson can provide an immediate impact to the team's pitching staff. "Sometimes, special kids come through the pipe. And we feel Johnson is special," Washington said. "Now, it's going to be up to him to go out there between the white lines and prove us right. He won this job. He wasn't somebody we said we wanted to give an opportunity to and see what happens."

Johnson's rapid ascent to the majors is a testament to his dominance on the mound. In one of the most storied seasons in DBU history, he rewrote the Patriots' record books, racking up 151 strikeouts last season—setting a single-season program record.  By the end of his collegiate career, he had also become DBU's all-time leader in strikeouts, fanning 314 batters over three years. At season's end, he became the third consensus All-American in program history and the first Patriot pitcher to be named an All-American by all five major college baseball publications. "We are extremely proud of Ryan and the opportunity he has earned to be on the opening day roster for the Angels," said DBU Head Coach Dan Heefner. "Ryan has tremendous work ethic and is an elite competitor. As physically gifted as Ryan is, we feel his greatest trait on the field is how competitive he is. Throughout Ryan’s career at DBU, we saw him be at his best when the situation was the toughest. The thing I am most proud of about Ryan is that with all the success he has had, it did not change him. His faith is real, and it’s his true foundation—it’s what’s allowed him to be so consistent on and off the field. We can’t wait to watch him take the mound this week as a major league pitcher."

Johnson and the Angels open their 2025 season on Thursday on the road against the Chicago White Sox.