Tyce
Johnson

Two swings, two home runs — and that was just the start of a monster day for Johnson. The sophomore reached base four times, finishing with three hits, two long balls, and five RBIs, showing the full offensive package that has quickly made him one of the fastest-rising 2028 names in California. In between the homers, he dropped down a bunt single and got down the line in 3.98 seconds, home-to-first, flashing the speed component that separates him from most power bats his age. Johnson’s combination of power, speed, and advanced hit tool continues to trend upward. After hitting .338 as a freshman, he looks strong and explosive, with tons of confidence heading into 2026. The tools were on full display from start to finish on both sides of the ball. On top of the elite bat speed that helped smash the two home runs, Johnson also turned an impressive double play that killed a Whittier Christian rally in the early going. Johnson’s strong showings at the West Coast Super Sophomore Games in Eugene and the San Diego Preseason All-State carried directly into this first live look of the spring. Johnson is shaping into one of the more complete players in a very deep California sophomore class, and if he’s not already on everyone’s radar nationally, he will be soon. An early candidate to represent Team SoCal at the Prep Baseball Future Games this summer, Johnson continues to stack loud performances and raise his stock.

Tyce Johnson, Linfield Christian School (CA), 2028
Positional Profile: SS Tooled up MIF with high upside and long-term projectability.
Body: 6-0, 176-pounds. Athletic, well-proportioned frame with strength already present and room for more.
Hit: LHH. Sets up balanced and relaxed with a confident posture. Hands start right behind the ear, allowing the barrel to work freely. Load has smoothed out, with the lower half gathering under control. Stride is simple and lands consistently, keeping the head quiet. Swing works slightly uphill with a clean, efficient path, staying on plane through contact. Hands fire quickly, and the barrel stays through the zone long enough to square balls with authority. 72.3 mph bat speed with 10 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 100 max exit velocity, averaged 92.2 mph. 358' max distance.
Arm: RH. INF-87 mph. Arm strength is a separator, throws carry across the diamond with pace and accuracy. Short and compact with multiple arm angles.
Defense: Athletic mover with quick, confident footwork. First step is explosive, allowing him to range laterally with ease. Looks the part on the left side.
ATH: 6.79 runner in the 60. 1.62 and 3.78 in the 10 and 30 yard splits.
Vizual Edge: 72.84 Edge Score

Johnson arrived at the San Diego Preseason All-State as one of four top-20 ranked players in the state for the 2028 class, currently sitting at No. 17, and did nothing but strengthen his case as one of California’s premier young prospects. A true long-term shortstop with elite athleticism, Johnson’s day began with a 6.79 60-yard dash, a notable jump from his 7.01 time recorded in September at the West Coast Super Sophomore Games. In BP, he showed off the offensive ability with a 99.5 mph max exit velocity (92.2 avg), 358-foot max batted distance, and a 75% hard-hit rate, supported by plus hand speed (23.9 mph) and bat speed peaking at 76.7 mph. While there is a slight hitch in the swing, it continues to smooth out, and when he’s on time, the path through the zone is fluid and efficient. Defensively, Johnson may have been the standout of the entire event. He arguably took the smoothest round of defense at shortstop during the workout, showing soft hands, no wasted actions, and one of the quickest, most compact releases in attendance. His arm strength peaked at 87 mph across the diamond, pairing well with his internal clock and accuracy. That defensive excellence carried directly into game action, where Johnson made two full-extension, leaping catches on line drives at second base, drawing a smile even from himself after the second grab. He capped off the day offensively with a base hit the other way in one of his three plate appearances, completing a truly well-rounded performance. With the toolset, MLB bloodlines, and off-the-charts athleticism, Johnson continues to establish himself as one of the fastest-rising names in the 2028 class.

Johnson entered the event well regarded for his tools and big league bloodlines (dad is former MLB OF Reed Johnson), but the LH hitting SS out of the Inland Empire made a name for himself with his workout performance. An athlete with plenty of present strength for a rising Soph. who has room to keep adding as he matures the metrics he put up across the board were impressive. During the defensive workout his clean actions on the INF dirt showed well while popping the mitt accurately on his throws at 80 MPH looking plenty comfortable to stick on the INF long term. Johnson clocked a 7.01 60 yard time with strong present burst (1.67 10 yard split) and 19.9 MPH run speed which were amongst the top times/metrics for any California player in attendance. Once he took his place in the LH batters box for his batting practice session Johnson was likely already solidly on this list, but he took it to another level during batting practice. His natural strength and athleticism show up in a somewhat unorthodox operation that produced max exit velocities up to 100.5 MPH while averaging 95.1 MPH including a 90% hard hit rate during BP. The underlying data on Johnson's swing was impressive on Blast Motion with 23.9 MPH hand speeds, 74.2 MPH bat speeds and rotational acceleration up to 16.4 Gs. The overall combination of what Johnson did during the workout day comfortably puts him amongst the Top 10 from the day.

Tyce Johnson, Linfield Christian School (CA), 2028
Positional Profile: SS Projectable MIF with promising upside and a present LH hit tool that already shows maturity.
Body: 5-11, 174-pounds. Athletic with noticeable lower-half strength and a frame that still offers room for continued physical growth.
Hit: LHH. Stays balanced with a sturdy lower-half foundation. Hands start high, above the ear. Uses a vertical leg lift that allows the weight to gather onto the back side. Creates a small hitch during the load as the hands rise with the leg kick, but still gets into the hitting slot on time. Shows a repeatable uphill path and the ability to drive the ball to all fields. 71.6 mph bat speed with 11 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 101 max exit velocity, averaged 95.1 mph. 359' max distance.
Arm: RH. INF-80 mph. Compact arm action with no wasted movement, producing accurate throws and the tools to remain on the left side long-term.
Defense: Works around the ball with the glove presented early and out front. Keeps his feet active through the play, maintaining rhythm.
ATH: 7.01 runner in the 60. 1.67 and 3.92 in the 10 and 30 yard splits. 22.50 max vertical.
Vizual Edge: 77.25 Edge Score

If Quintero was not the biggest breakout star of this event then the crown would have to go Tyce Johnson of the Inland Empire. Appearing in our Workout Warriors Quick Hits just like Quintero did, Johnson may have performed at an even higher level over three games played at PK Park. On the opening evening following up the standout workout performance he uncorked on three well hit baseballs that went from the LCF gap into the RCF with impressive carry. While none of those first three balls turned into hits the success for Johnson was still to come proving that if you hit the ball hard consistently they will find holes when he collected multiple hits over his final at bats of the weekend. Johnson capped his offensive performance with a rocket line drive to the warning track in LCF which cleared the OF and turned into an easy triple for the athletic runner. Defensively, he looked more than comfortable moving around the middle of the INF with the type of actions that give you plenty of reason to stick at SS. Tyce was clean on the defensive side of the game. Be on the lookout for a big rise coming from Johnson who is on the path to wind up amongst the top SS prospects in this class for the state of California.