So far on our list, there has only been one player that was drafted in 2024. That changes in this article.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual Mid-Season top prospect list, where we’ll look at the 35 best prospects in the Blue Jays system. We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and other publication’s scouting reports if available.
Let’s take a look at our 19th-best prospect, Johnny King IV!
<h2>Getting to know Johnny King IV…</h2>
Position: Starting pitcher
Throws: Left
Born: July 26, 2006
Acquired: 3rd-round, 2024 draft (Blue Jays)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
The Blue Jays used their third-round pick in the 2024 draft to select prep pitcher, Johnny King IV from Naples High School. Thanks to an above-slot bonus of $1.248 million, they were able to pull him away from his commitment to Miami University.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much in the way of statistics for his high school career, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/bluejays/johnny-king-803516">but MLB Pipeline ranked him as their 16th-best Blue Jays prospect in the mid-season update</a>. The left-handed starter stands at 6’4”, 210 lbs with three excellent looking pitches.
His fastball sits in the low-90s, but can hit up to 95 mph and has a ton of life, thus leading to whiffs. King IV’s Pipeline bio adds that he could end up adding more velocity as he grows into his frame. Moreover, the 18-year-old has a curveball that sits in the upper 70s, as well as a slurve that he uses against lefties. Rounding out his pitch mix is a changeup that’s still a work in progress.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
LHP Johnny King named to 2nd HS Team All-America. 0.73 ERA w/ an absurd 110 K over 47.2 IP. 92-95 w/ a hammer, strong 3 pitch mix. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canes</a> commit 
Full list ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/RhGsrjYHwI">https://t.co/RhGsrjYHwI</a> <a href="https://t.co/Cop8xlVs4G">https://t.co/Cop8xlVs4G</a> <a href="https://t.co/A6MJOcI9nS">pic.twitter.com/A6MJOcI9nS</a>
&mdash; Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) <a href="https://twitter.com/Florida_PG/status/1804265063366431121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Like many prep players, King IV also played as a position player, with Pipeline noting that he could be a solid prospect in that regard as well. There are worrisome signs about his arm action which can lead to command issues, but they give him a ceiling as a mid-rotation starter.
The Blue Jays have a track record of not allowing their high-round pitching picks to pitch immediately after the draft. Ricky Tiedemann, Brandon Barriera, Landen Maroudis, and even Khal Stephen and Trey Yesavage are some notable examples.
With that being said, it’ll be interesting to see how King IV does when he makes his professional debut next season.
<hr />
<h2>In case you missed it…</h2>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-top-35-prospect-countdown-no-35-peyton-williams">No. 35: Peyton Williams</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-34-victor-arias">No. 34: Victor Arias</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-33-sean-keys">No. 33: Sean Keys</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-32-randy-soto">No. 32: Randy Soto</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-31-trenton-wallace">No. 31: Trenton Wallace</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-30-jace-bohrofen">No. 30: Jace Bohrofen</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-29-will-robertson">No. 29: Will Robertson</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-28-yohendrick-pinango">No. 28: Yohendrick Piñango</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-27-eddinson-paulino">No. 27: Eddinson Paulino</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-26-juaron-watts-brown">No. 26: Juaron Watts-Brown</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-25-cutter-coffey">No. 25: Cutter Coffey</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-24-dahian-santos">No. 24: Dahian Santos</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/2024/09/02/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-23-damiano-palmegiani">No. 23: Damiano Palmegiani</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-22-dasan-brown">No. 22: Dasan Brown</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-21-brandon-barriera">No. 21: Brandon Barriera</a>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-20-josh-kasevich">No. 20: Josh Kasevich</a>
<hr />
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

So far on our list, there has only been one player that was drafted in 2024. That changes in this article.



This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual Mid-Season top prospect list, where we’ll look at the 35 best prospects in the Blue Jays system. We’ll look at the player’s stats, my observations, and other publication’s scouting reports if available.

Let’s take a look at our 19th-best prospect, Johnny King IV!
<h2>Getting to know Johnny King IV…</h2>
Position: Starting pitcher

Throws: Left

Born: July 26, 2006

Acquired: 3rd-round, 2024 draft (Blue Jays)

Previous ranking: Not ranked

The Blue Jays used their third-round pick in the 2024 draft to select prep pitcher, Johnny King IV from Naples High School. Thanks to an above-slot bonus of $1.248 million, they were able to pull him away from his commitment to Miami University.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much in the way of statistics for his high school career, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/bluejays/johnny-king-803516">but MLB Pipeline ranked him as their 16th-best Blue Jays prospect in the mid-season update</a>. The left-handed starter stands at 6’4”, 210 lbs with three excellent looking pitches.

His fastball sits in the low-90s, but can hit up to 95 mph and has a ton of life, thus leading to whiffs. King IV’s Pipeline bio adds that he could end up adding more velocity as he grows into his frame. Moreover, the 18-year-old has a curveball that sits in the upper 70s, as well as a slurve that he uses against lefties. Rounding out his pitch mix is a changeup that’s still a work in progress.

https://twitter.com/Florida_PG/status/1804265063366431121

Like many prep players, King IV also played as a position player, with Pipeline noting that he could be a solid prospect in that regard as well. There are worrisome signs about his arm action which can lead to command issues, but they give him a ceiling as a mid-rotation starter.

The Blue Jays have a track record of not allowing their high-round pitching picks to pitch immediately after the draft. Ricky Tiedemann, Brandon Barriera, Landen Maroudis, and even Khal Stephen and Trey Yesavage are some notable examples.

With that being said, it’ll be interesting to see how King IV does when he makes his professional debut next season.

<hr />

<h2>In case you missed it…</h2>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-top-35-prospect-countdown-no-35-peyton-williams">No. 35: Peyton Williams</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-34-victor-arias">No. 34: Victor Arias</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-33-sean-keys">No. 33: Sean Keys</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-32-randy-soto">No. 32: Randy Soto</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-2024-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-31-trenton-wallace">No. 31: Trenton Wallace</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-30-jace-bohrofen">No. 30: Jace Bohrofen</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-29-will-robertson">No. 29: Will Robertson</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-28-yohendrick-pinango">No. 28: Yohendrick Piñango</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-27-eddinson-paulino">No. 27: Eddinson Paulino</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-26-juaron-watts-brown">No. 26: Juaron Watts-Brown</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-25-cutter-coffey">No. 25: Cutter Coffey</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-24-dahian-santos">No. 24: Dahian Santos</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/2024/09/02/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-23-damiano-palmegiani">No. 23: Damiano Palmegiani</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-22-dasan-brown">No. 22: Dasan Brown</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-21-brandon-barriera">No. 21: Brandon Barriera</a>

<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-nations-mid-season-prospect-countdown-no-20-josh-kasevich">No. 20: Josh Kasevich</a>

<hr />

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

Blue Jays Nation’s Mid-Season Prospect Countdown – No. 19: Johnny King IV

Instant Reaction: Blue Jays defeat Tigers to move into top spot in MLB

Blue Jays GDB -104.0: Berrios looks to build lead in pivotal series versus Tigers

On this day in Blue Jays history: Carlos Delgado hit his 1,000th RBI

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer (4) reacts after scoring against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at Rate Field.

Recent articles from Ryley Delaney

Breaking News