Top Chicago White Sox prospects before they decided to rebuild

Micah Johnson 2014 – #4 prospect

Micah Johnson hit a slash of .335/.402/.474 with an OPS of .876 along with 19 stolen bases at Indiana University Bloomington. Being high on the draft boards, Johnson began to fall down as he struggled in 2012 leading up to the draft. He sustained an elbow and fell to the White Sox in the ninth round.

With average fielding and an average arm, Micah Johnson’s speed is what differentiated him from other prospects. He was not expected to do much offensively. They wanted him to just produce a batting average at or around .260-.270.

However, Johnson defied the projections after a phenomenal 2013 across three different minor league levels. Single-A Kannapolis, High-A Winston-Salem, and Double-A Birmingham all were blessed by Johnson and his elite play. He put up a .312 average with 84 stolen bases, he was able to shoot up the list of the top prospects. By 2014, Johnson was fourth in the system and was seen to be the second baseman or shortstop of the future and ranked 4th on the White Sox prospect list.

Johnson started his 2014 hot out of the gate as a Birmingham Baron posting a batting average of .329 with a .880 OPS which earned him a promotion to Triple-A Charlotte. As a Knight, Johnson’s 2014 slowed down a bit. He had a similar 2015 at the beginning when he saw the ball well hitting .315 with a .841 OPS as a Knight.

That earned him a promotion to the White Sox. Similar to last season, after a promotion, Johnson struggled. In 36 games Johnson hit an abysmal .230/.306/.270 slash with a .576 OPS. What’s worse is that he was 3/5 on stealing bases which means he could not even deliver on the one skill he excelled at.

By that offseason, Johnson and his teammates Frankie Montas and Trayce Thompson were sent to the Dodgers in that three-team trade that landed the Sox Todd Frazier. In 2017 Johnson was traded to the Braves after only 7 games as a Dodger when he recorded only one hit. After only 18 games and two hits in Atlanta, he has not played in the majors since.

Recently Johnson has been making headlines but as an artist. He has been painting with hopes to inspire the youth. He’s also been commissioned by players like Blake Snell, who asked for a Ken Griffey Jr. piece that is really nice.