Butte boy/Mariner catcher Rob Johnson

[GrizBiz]

Pretty good article in the Seattle Times about Butte grad Rob Johnson. He's a Mariner catching prospect but I expect him to be traded as soon as he shows mastery of AA ball. He's got last year's #3 draft pick Jeff Clement, this year's Japanese free agent Kenjii Johjima and young Rene Rivera ahead of him, so I doubt that we'll get to see him in a Mariner uniform. He'll get his shot with another organization, though, and considering everything that he's got going for him, I'll bet that he succeeds.

Pretty impressive that the kid didn't play high school baseball but still wound up on track for a big league career.


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2002831255_mari27.html

"He seems to have the tools that will get him to the big leagues: the hands, the arm, the bat," said Pat Rice, one of the organization's lead pitching coaches. "But what you notice most about him is his character. If we're ever looking for a leader, Rob can be that man."