Cameron Johnson (USA Baseball)
The St. Louis Cardinals selected Cameron Johnson with their last pick in the draft. This pick was a roll of the dice since he is committed to collegiate powerhouse LSU. Johnson is fully expected to enroll in the fall. He was one of the top ranked high school draft prospects in the country, ranked 43rd overall by Baseball America.
Cardinals Roll Dice and Hope to Land Lefty
Johnson is an imposing figure on the mound, standing 6’5″ and weighing in at 230 lbs. The big lefty is without a doubt a high upside arm.
His fastball sits in the low to mid 90’s and has been clocked as high as 98 mph. It has good movement with sink. His second pitch is breaking ball that isn’t quite fully developed. It has decent movement but needs to be tightened up a little bit more. Last is his changeup, which is still a work in progress. The lefty throws with a 3/4 arm slot and will likely continue to add velocity as he matures.
Johnson moved to Florida from Maryland and attended IMG Academy. Undoubtedly, the move was made to get the impressive southpaw more exposure. He had a good spring at IMG but was slowed by elbow tendinitis. The tendinitis cost him some games and raised injury concerns. Seemingly, he is fine, and no structural damage was found.
The injury clearly didn’t bother the LSU coaching staff as they got Johnson to commit to the collegiate powerhouse. Most likely, LSU highlighted the opportunity to improve his pre-draft rank and draft status for his next go around. Johnson has the makings of a top of the rotation starter. If he performs well for LSU, he could improve his draft position and potentially be a top ten pick.
So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance
Unfortunately for Cardinal fans, Johnson is unlikely to sign. He is almost certain to honor his commitment to LSU to try and raise his draft status. There is a really slim chance that the Cardinals could sign Johnson, but it would probably take high six or seven figures to sign the lefty. It’s highly doubtful that the Cardinals will have that left in the budget. However, if they can get him signed, it would be the biggest steal of the draft.
