When Leon Johnson was little, his dad Bob taught him to use his left hand in hopes that it would pay dividends on the baseball field some day.

"It's just baseball, eating and writing," Johnson said. "Everything he didn't teach me to do left-handed, I do right-handed."

The switch may end up sparking Johnson's career, which took a turn when was sent down June 7 from Class A Peoria, where he was playing center field for manager Ryne Sandberg, to the Cubs' Rookie League team in Arizona. Johnson, who grew up playing in Portage Little League and with the Breakers, was hitting just .220.

"I was really surprised," he said. "But that happens. You've got to take it in stride."

A few days later, Johnson was in Mesa doing outfield work when a pitching coach marvelled at his arm strength on throws to the plate. Joking around, Johnson replied, "you should see it on the mound, it's amazing."

The following day, he was approached by the minor league pitching coordinator about throwing off the mound. They liked what they saw, asked Johnson if he wanted to give pitching a go, and he jumped at the idea.

"I love pitching so much," he said. "I was never really that happy in professional ball as a hitter, even in Mesa, when I was hitting .400. There's nothing like pitching in a game, like striking a guy out. I'm having the time of my life."

It had been five years since Johnson had last pitched, as a senior at Thatcher (Ariz.) High School, where he was the staff ace. He accepted a scholarship to Brigham Young and spent parts of 2005 and 2006 on a Mormon mission in Siberia.

"I always wanted to be a pitcher, but I guess I didn't throw hard enough to be taken seriously," he said. "For some reason, I started throwing harder than I did before the mission. The scout who got me drafted asked me, 'what did you do?' I don't know what the miles per hour was, but I could tell with the carry, the way I was throwing runners out from the outfield."

After breaking the Mountain West record for stolen bases (29) with BYU, Johnson was drafted in the 10th round by the Cubs last year and was quickly promoted to Peoria after tearing up the Rookie League. But the hitting never clicked despite a 7-for-15 surge before the demotion.

Johnson has stashed his bats and isn't looking back.

"I'm a pitcher 100 percent now," he said. "I'm getting too old (23) to switch back."

Johnson throws a slider, change-up and fastball that clocks in the high 80s. With a little tweak of his mechanics, he hopes to bump it into the low 90s.

The organization has targeted a return to Peoria for him next season, though Johnson, who has thrown 2 2/3 scoreless innings in two outings, is aiming higher. He plans to add weight in the offseason and earn a spot on the High A Daytona roster.

"They're taking it really slow because of the transition," he said. "I'm hoping I can make the jump. I have a lot of confidence in my pitches. Obviously, being a left-handed pitcher is an advantage because there's less competition to make it to the Major Leagues. If you're right-handed and throw 86 (miles per hour), you better be really dirty. I'm going to give it my best and see where it goes."