Young catcher who didn't play in high school gets noticed

PEORIA, Ariz. — Suddenly, from being in the pits whenever catcher Dan Wilson went down with injury the past few years, the Mariners expect to be deep behind the facemask.

They found Rene Rivera to be big-league capable in 2005, they signed Kenji Johjima to be their everyday catcher, and they snared Jeff Clement in the June draft.

While they speak well or glowingly of all of them, the Mariners also are fond of Rob Johnson, their fourth-round pick in 2004.

"He seems to have the tools that will get him to the big leagues: the hands, the arm, the bat," said Pat Rice, one of the organization's lead pitching coaches. "But what you notice most about him is his character. If we're ever looking for a leader, Rob can be that man."

Roger Hanson, who has beaten Seattle catchers into shape to crouch behind a big-league plate for what seems like forever, does not wax quite so poetic.

"Johnson's a stud," the veteran coach said. "Everyone always asks me if Jeff [Clement] is improving, and he is. He's come a long way defensively, and he'll play in the big leagues. But so will Rob. "

If not for Seattle's multiple moves last year, Johnson may have been more obviously the organization's top-rated receiving prospect.

Not bad for a kid born in Anaconda, Mont., (pop. 4,000), who lived in White Hall, Mont., (pop. 800), and moved to Butte, (pop. 30,000), and never played high-school baseball.

"Our high school didn't have baseball, but I just loved the game so I pursued it," said Johnson, who is expected back today after missing two days with back spasms. "I got it from my grandfather, Howard [Johnson]. He played pro ball in the Reds' organization in the 1930s. I played American Legion ball."

That would be about 30 games a year, although he did get to postseason tournaments, "as far away as Idaho," he said, laughing at his limited travels.

He was headed to the University of South Carolina, but when Gamecocks catcher Landon Powell returned to school, Johnson switched to Houston. "I wanted to catch," he explained.

It still was no simple thing. When Houston lost two outfielders in one collision, the catcher who can run wound up in the outfield.

"It took me days to see him behind the plate," said Hanson, who was sent to judge Johnson as a catcher. "When I saw him, I said grab him."

Seattle did in the fourth round (123rd overall pick) of the 2004 draft, and his catching career really began.

"I never had any coaching on it until I got to the Mariners," he said. "They've been pouring it into me ever since, and I love it."

The coaches love his work ethic, which rivals Clement's for being off the charts.

"It's the way I was raised, and it really only takes some common sense," he explained.

Like calling home last week where it was minus-40 degrees wind chill. Like knowing what's entailed in his father's line of work — mining.

"He's in management," Johnson said. "But there's a lot of mining in Montana, and I know how dangerous it is."

Like remembering his grandparents' ranch, where he worked baling hay from the seventh grade on.

"You started as soon as the dew came off the grass — you don't want to bale it wet or you get mold," he said. "You quit when it gets dark.

"It was great preparation for getting in shape," he said. "And it also taught you what real work is."

Contracts

The Mariners announced that they agreed to terms on contracts with seven players: left-handed pitchers Travis Blackley, Luis Gonzalez and Jake Woods; right-handed pitcher Jesse Foppert; outfielders T.J. Bohn, Mike Morse and Chris Snelling.

Thirty-three players on the 40-man roster are now under contract for the 2006 season. The seven others — Yorman Bazardo, Shin-Soo Choo, Felix Hernandez, Jose Lopez, Clint Nageotte, J.J. Putz, and Jeremy Reed — are all under the Mariners' control.

The Mariners have 63 players in camp: 31 pitchers, 15 infielders, 11 outfielders and six catchers.