Brian Flynn and Erik Johnson are the 113th and 114th former Northwoods League Players to debut in MLB
Rochester, MN – On Tuesday, September 4, former Rochester Honker Brian Flynn was called up by the Miami Marlins and former Alexandria Beetle Erik Johnson was called up by the Chicago White Sox.
Flynn, who played collegiately at Wichita State University, played for the Rochester Honkers during the 2009 and 2011 seasons, and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 18th round of the 2008 MLB draft and then again in the 7th round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers.
Johnson pitched collegiately at California and was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Chicago White Sox.
Both Johnson and Flynn pitched in the Northwoods League during the 2009 season. Flynn went 6-2 with a 4.23 ERA in 10 games started for the Honkers. He also struck out 42 batters in 55.1 innings pitched. Johnson was 4-2 with a 2.61 ERA over 10 games with the Beetles. He also struck out 49 batters in 58.2 innings pitched.
In 2011 Flynn only started one game with the Honkers. He allowed only 1 run over 7 innings pitched and struck out 10 batters.
Flynn and Johnson both began their minor league careers in 2011. Flynn started in the Lo A Midwest League with the West Michigan Whitecaps. Over 13 games he went 7-2 with a 3.46 ERA. He also struck out 57 batters in 67.2 innings pitched. Johnson only pitched in 2 games that year in the Rookie Pioneer League with the Great Falls Voyagers. He pitched 2 innings and had a 4.50 ERA.
Flynn started the 2012 season in Hi A with the Lakeland Flying Tigers in the Florida State League. After 18 games he was promoted to AA with the Erie Seawolves in the Eastern League. Flynn only made one appearance in Erie before he was traded along with Jacob Turner and former La Crosse Logger Rob Brantly to the Marlins for Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante. He ended up spending the remainder of the 2012 season in AA with the Jacksonville Suns in the Southern League. Between the three teams Flynn went a combined 11-5 with a 3.91 ERA in 27 games.
Johnson began the 2012 season in Lo A with the Kannapolis Intimidators in the South Atlantic League. He appeared in 8 games with Kannapolis before being promoted to Hi A with Winston-Salem in the Carolina League. Between the two he was a combined 6-5 with a 2.53 ERA in 17 games.
In 2013 Flynn started the year at AA with Jacksonville before being promoted after 8 games to AAA with the New Orleans Zephyrs in the Pacific Coast League. Johnson also started the year in AA with the Birmingham Barons in the Southern League and was promoted to AAA with the Charlotte Knights in the International League. Over 27 games, before his promotion to the Marlins, Flynn was 7-12 with a 2.63 ERA to go along with 147 strikeouts in 161 innings pitched. Johnson was even more impressive before his promotion as he compiled a 12-3 record with a 1.96 ERA over 24 games. He also struck out 131 batters in 142 innings.
In his Major League debut on Wednesday, September 4, Flynn went four-plus innings, allowing three runs on six hits while walking three and striking out two. He also recorded his first Major League hit, with a single to center in the fifth inning. Johnson also made his Major League debut on Wednesday night and went six innings and allowed three runs on six hits while striking out one.
The Northwoods League has more teams, plays more games, and draws more fans than any other Summer Collegiate League in North America. The 2013 season marked the 20th season of Northwoods League baseball. 114 former players have gone on to play Major League baseball. Notable alumni of the league include Curtis Granderson (Yankees), Chris Sale (White Sox), Max Scherzer (Tigers), Josh Willingham (Twins) and Jordan Zimmermann (Nationals).
