Johansen is the son of Kris and Shannon Johansen. Kris is a Janesville High School graduate and served as a student teacher in New Richland around 1981.
Jan Jacobson wonders how all this newfound attention will affect her nephew, but that’s what 100-mph fastballs do, attract attention, and that’s how fast he throws from his 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame.
Johansen was bringing it at 94 mph when drafted by the Mets four years ago. Instead of signing he went on to attend Dallas Baptist University, where he was 7-6 with a 5.40 earned run average and 75 strikeouts and 26 walks in 88 1/3 innings in 2013. The Mets owned the rights to Johansen until 2012, when he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates but again did not sign a contract.
Baseball America rated Johansen as the No. 182 overall prospect, while ESPN’s Keith Law ranked him the 66th best player available.
“If he had good numbers, he wouldn’t have got out of the top 10,” Nationals vice president of player personnel Roy Clark said.
"I do have a very hard fastball, but I do have some secondary pitches,” said Johansen. “I have a changeup that I have a pretty good feel for as well as a curve ball and a slider. The slider kind of doubles as a cutter sometimes, but whenever it's necessary I can throw it in there as a slider for a strikeout pitch."
The other player with area connections is Hunter Pence of the San Francisco Giants, a poastseason standout last fall and former all-star with the Astros.
“I’m just ecstatic they chose to take me with their first overall pick," he said.
In 2009, when Johansen was in New Richland with his family visiting relatives, he had the opportunity to pitch at Legion Field, where his dad pitched for the Janesville Golden Bears in the 1970s.
Jan Jacobson remembers it well.
“He pitched under-handed to me and my sister,” she said. “So I’ve gotten a hit off him. Not many people can say that.”
