Darren Balsley’s first impressions of new Padres right-hander Erik Johnson have been gleaned only through video so far, but the pitching coach has seen plenty to pique his interest. Johnson, a former second-round draft selection acquired from the Chicago White Sox in Saturday’s trade of James Shields, is scheduled to make his club debut this weekend.

“I enjoy working with new guys,” Balsley said. “They’re all fun to work with.”

And while the Padres have recently molded arms such as Tyson Ross and Drew Pomeranz into rotation stalwarts — like Johnson, both were high draft picks and, coincidentally, collegiate pitchers at Cal — Balsley doesn’t necessarily view the latest addition as a full-blown reclamation project. Johnson, 26, doesn’t have the major league experience Ross or Pomeranz had when they arrived in San Diego — he made 18 starts for the White Sox across four seasons — though it appears the Padres are offering his first sustained opportunity at the big-league level.

“Watching the video, there’s a few things I think he can do a little better,” Balsley said. “I don’t think it’s going to take too long — I don’t even use the word ‘fixed’ — to just get him back to normal. We’ve had a lot of success here with getting guys back to normal, to where they were in the past when they were pitching well.”


Johnson hasn’t reported to the Padres yet due to a matter of timing. He last started for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate Thursday, was optioned to Triple-A El Paso upon his acquisition and headed to High Single-A Lake Elsinore on Monday to throw a bullpen session.

“We’re just keeping him around (San Diego) instead of making him travel all over the place,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “He’s done the Triple-A thing for a while, so if we choose to throw him for an inning (in the minors), we’re not that concerned where that inning is.”

Johnson’s fastball velocity has risen and fallen — while he’s been up to 95 mph in the past, he has largely worked in the 89-92 range this year — and Balsley said he wouldn’t be able to determine the cause until he got around the right-hander. Despite the fluctuation, the heater apparently has remained effective at times.

“I’ve seen a swing-and-miss fastball,” Balsley said. “He has a really quick arm. What I saw, his breaking ball was fine. It’s a good mix, and he was using the strike zone. His fastball, it seems like he either had a good spin rate or it’s sneaky at times. ... I saw some really good curveballs and think it’s a really good major league pitch. Not too many red flags in his deliveries.”


In his 18 major league starts, Johnson went 7-6 with a 4.50 ERA (49 ER, 98 IP), 49 walks and 77 strikeouts. He had a 2.94 ERA in eight starts with Triple-A Charlotte this season.

Asked what he thought Johnson could improve on, Balsley said: “Just a more consistent arm action. Sometimes he gets a little short (in his arm swing). ... That’s the main thing I saw.

“There’s no reason he can’t be successful here.”