So many great pitchers in 2009! Lincecum, Carpenter, Cain, Kershaw in the NL, and then you have pitchers like Beckett and Verlander in the AL. But what about Josh Johnson? With an ERA in the 2s and a consistently dominant season, Johnson gets little due for what he’s become.

Perhaps the most impressive fact about Johnson’s performance this season is the fact that he had Tommy John surgery just last season, a condition known to virtually end the careers of many. Not only has Johnson found his old form, but he’s vastly exceeded it, and the Marlins are contenders in 2009 largely due to Johnson’s success.

As he gets little media coverage and you rarely hear his name mentioned on ESPN, more active fans of baseball will be aware of his status; more casual fans may not know much about him though.

Having been drafted straight out of high school seven years ago, expectations were always high for Johnson, who spent three years in the Marlins’ farm system before finally being called up to the majors during the last month of the 2005 baseball season. Johnson got off to a nice start, with four respectable outings.

The next season, Johnson found great success on the mound. The rookie finished with a 12-7 win-loss record and a 3.10 earned run average, almost best in the National League. This is a huge feat for any rookie pitcher, and if not for the fine performances of teammates Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, Johnson easily could have won a rookie of the year award that season.

The next season told a different story. After dealing with a nagging elbow injury, Johnson couldn’t find his form, beginning the season on a horrible note. This is when the Tommy John surgery took place, and Johnson recovered very quickly, returning to the mound during the summer of 2008.

This year, Johnson has simply been an ace. With a 12-2 record and a 2.85 ERA, very few pitchers are having better campaigns in baseball this season. The Marlins have a winning record for the first time in a few seasons, and can most definitely thank Johnson for a major part of their success.

Johnson has been the most valuable Marlins pitcher this season, and quite possibly the most valuable player – though with Hanley Ramirez on your team, it’s hard to definitively say that. Where he goes from here will be interesting, but with Johnson’s talent, he may very well get better.

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Category: Baseball Players• Tags used in this article: Dan Uggla  Florida Marlins  Hanley Ramírez  Josh Johnson  National League  Tommy John 

Baseball articles on the web based on related keywords: Dan Uggla  Florida Marlins  Hanley Ramírez  Josh Johnson  National League  Tommy John