Former Marlins pitcher had a chance at a historic season

I'm really liking this post on MLB.com about seasons that could've been. The list includes former Miami Marlins players. One in particular happens to be one of the greatest in team history. I'm of course talking about Josh Johnson. Unlike another former Marlins player, he sadly won't be going into the Hall of Fame, but he was seemingly on that exact trajectory at one point in his career.

Former Miami Marlins starting pitcher Josh Johnson was on pace for a great season.

Let's go back in time to the 2011 Miami Marlins season. The time when Josh Johnson was the team's ace and was on pace for a great season. That season, he pitched to a phenomenal 1.64 ERA/2.64 FIP, with 8.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 9 games and 60.1 innings pitched. He seemed to have gotten injured chasing a weak grounder hit by Freddie Freeman of the then Atlanta Braves.

It's hard to say how Josh would've done had he not gotten injured. To be fair, it was a very short sample size and it's hard to truly have an idea of what he would've done over the course of the entire season. It's important to point out that he would've had 20+ more starts, which is a pretty large number, compared especially to the 9 that he actually had.

For reference, he was great in the 2010 season when he pitched to a 2.30 ERA/2.41 FIP, with 9.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 28 games and 183.2 innings pitched. Would he have had a season closer to that if he stayed healthy? My guess is that is definitely a very high possibility. I would also take another guess that perhaps he could've had his best ever season that year as well.

It's sad and very frustrating to know that a pitcher as talented as Josh Johnson, would have his career ruined by injuries. He was definitely capable of being an elite arm for years and to perhaps have even made a case for the Hall of Fame. Sadly, his Miami Marlins career is a major "what if?" instead.