Lugnuts Player Spotlight: Cobi Johnson

LANSING, Mich. via TORONTO, Ont. -Cobi Johnson's travel ball team just needed someone to pitch. Johnson, a young position player at the time, was rather impartial to the notion of pitching. Still, the team threw him out there. Years later, he's a professional pitcher.
After getting a good handle on his fastball, Johnson, a native of Holiday, Florida, learned to throw a changeup, and, soon after, a curveball.
With guidance from his father, former big league pitcher and Blue Jays bullpen coach Dane Johnson, Cobi was able to learn the art of pitch sequencing and setting a batter up, even at a young age.
"Everything I've learned is from him," Johnson said. "He's been big for me. After games, I still talk to him and bounce ideas off of him."
Though he started out pitching with a old-school windmill windup, Johnson soon adopted the more discrete and compact delivery that many pitchers of his father's era, mainly Blue Jays legend Roy Halladay, used with such efficiency.

Having committed to Florida State - a program that has produced such names as Bruce Bochy, J.D. Drew, and over 130 other MLB draft picks - before his junior year, Johnson graduated third in his graduating class, attributing his academic success to the encouragement his mother, Gina. "Even throughout college, I maintained that level of achievability," he said. "My mom's big on academics, it's just about focusing on one thing at a time and committing to what you're doing."
Choosing to major in mechanical engineering of all things, Johnson greatly enjoyed his time in the classroom. He says he hopes to finish his degree at some point, pointing out that he has but five classes until he can graduate.
As a Seminole, Johnson pitched to a 3.54 ERA in 20.1 frames, striking out 27 and even playing (though not directly) against fellow Lugnuts Nick Podkul (Notre Dame), Johnny Aiello (Wake Forest), and Josh Hiatt (North Carolina).
"To whom much is given, much is expected," he observed about playing at the world-class facilities at FSU. "You travel the best, you eat the best, but you definitely have to perform."
After being drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 29th round of the 2017 draft and opting not to sign, Johnson was then drafted by the Blue Jays in 2018 in the 30th round.
Though he had a rough idea of how minor-league baseball operated, he was pleasantly surprised when he played at Vancouver's Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium. "The Nat was awesome, I think we sold out almost every home game," he remembered. "They just love the team up there and it's such a great atmosphere to play in."
A mid-season All-Star in the Northwest League, Johnson pitched to an ERA of 1.73 in 26.0 frames as Vancouver's closer, going 10-for-10 in save opportunities and striking out 35 and walking just eight.
Attempting to nail down what Johnson refers to as baseball's "toughest three outs," serving as a closer taught him a lot about adjusting and tweaking his delivery to fit different situations. By his own admission, a closer and starter must pitch in different ways to get the outs they need to get.
Following a rigorous routine as one of the Lugs' top starters, Johnson hopes to improve his efficiency and get his pitch counts down as he gets deeper and deeper into ballgames. With exciting stuff and a bulldog attitude to match, Johnson remains one of the team's most promising young arms.