New Kane County Cougars manager Mark Johnson was busy “playing Mr. Mom” in his offseason Georgia home when he was named to the position earlier this week. The 37-year-old Johnson, a former Midwest Leaguer and White Sox catcher, managed many of the Cubs’ top emerging prospects in Boise, Idaho, last season, helping the Hawks to the short-season Northwest League championship series. Johnson expects many of those players to join him at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark, where fans, players and club brass alike anxiously await a new era in which the Cubs’ Low-A affiliate plays a manageable drive from Wrigley Field. Catching up with Johnson for the latest edition of the Weekend Chit-Chat, Kane County Chronicle sportswriter Kevin Druley spoke with Johnson about his new gig. The following is an edited transcript:

Tell me a little about the timetable and what inclination the Cubs gave you about managing in A ball this coming season.

Right after instructional league or something like that, I think, is usually when they let you know. But obviously, it’s not written in stone until they announce it.