Tyler Johnson bringing the heat in South Carolina bullpen

South Carolina pitcher Tyler Johnson was an onlooker for most of USC’s disappointing 2015 season, throwing only 7 2/3 innings as the Gamecocks missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999.

Johnson was confident South Carolina could have a bounce back year in 2016, but he also knew that in order to be a big part of it he had to add strength and velocity.

As a freshman opponents hit .286 against Johnson in seven appearances. His fastball sat in the upper 80s, which is good, but he needed more to be an impact guy out of the bullpen.

“I had to make a jump with my strength. I really went on a mission this summer to go get that,” Johnson said. “I set a goal for myself. I just wanted to help this program win.”

Johnson’s offseason consisted of countless hours in the weight room, lifting weights four, five or even six days a week.

He studied his pitching mechanics to detail what areas he needed to add muscle, focusing on his back, shoulders and legs.

“You wake up one day and you don’t want to do it, and then you remember why you do it,” Johnson said.

His time in the weight room has translated to success on the pitcher’s mound as his fastball has gone from upper 80s to mid 90s and sometimes higher. Johnson has touched 98 a few times this year, and alongside Josh Reagan has become a force in the backend of USC’s bullpen.

Johnson and Reagan each have four saves in SEC games, which puts the two tied for third in the league in saves in conference games. Johnson has five saves total.

“We’ve got some hard workers on our team, but I don’t know if anybody works harder than Tyler Johnson does,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said. “It’s really nice to see his hard work pay off. That kid busts it like no other. He deserves all the success he’s having.”

Johnson has a 3.34 ERA in 20 relief appearances. In his last four outings, including two against No. 1 Florida, he has thrown 5 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed one hit with seven strikeouts. Johnson has recorded saves in each of his past two outings.

“He’s got great stuff, and the thing that I’m excited about is he’s got great demeanor, great makeup and great command,” Holbrook said. “When you couple command with stuff like he has he can certainly get his fair share of outs for us. It’s been really neat to see him grow and develop, not only physically, but as a pitcher as well.”

Johnson is not only a hard thrower, but he is very good at spotting his pitches. The sophomore has walked just four batters and none in his last eight outings.

“He’s got a big-league arm and he keeps getting better. The thing that I like about Tyler is he competes, and he throws strikes,” Holbrook said. “There are a lot of times that kids have arms like that and they’re all over the place and they’re walking people, but that’s not Tyler. He throws hard, and he throws it in the strike zone. His off-speed pitches are getting better, too.”

Johnson said even if he was struggling this year he would be proud of the hard work he put in.

“I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “I’ve learned how to pitch a little bit from the repetitions. That’s raised my confidence, but baseball is a humbling sport. Every time you get too high it brings you back down. You just try to make your pitches when you get the opportunity.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 9:31 PM with the headline "Tyler Johnson bringing the heat in South Carolina bullpen."