Pirates prospect Termarr Johnson believes camp injury taught him to overcome adversity
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BRADENTON, Fla. — Termarr Johnson is the youngest player at Pittsburgh Pirates spring training for the second consecutive year, and the 19-year-old second baseman is hoping to get a full experience this time.
The inaugural big league camp for the No. 4 overall pick of the 2022 MLB Draft was abbreviated, ending on the second day of full-squad workouts when he was shut down with a strained right hamstring. Johnson, ranked the Pirates’ No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 4 by Baseball America, learned how to overcome adversity for the first time in his baseball career.
“It was tough but I’m a strong believer in God. He doesn’t put you through anything without a lesson or something that you need to learn,” Johnson said. “I learned a lot from that situation that’s going to take me further than it would have ever taken me if I had stayed longer, in my opinion.”
Termarr Johnson, the Pirates’ 2022 first-round pick, is thanked by a fan after signing an autograph before a workout at Pirate City in Bradenton. pic.twitter.com/WtcVOx27cW
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 16, 2024
It prompted a slow start to Johnson’s first full season, keeping him sidelined for six weeks. For a batter billed as a generational talent with an advanced approach and discerning eye at the plate, Johnson struggled through his first six weeks at Low-A Bradenton. He didn’t play a game until April 21 and had 38 strikeouts against nine walks through May.
“It was tough, honestly, because I like to be on base,” Johnson said. “I like to help the team win, and me striking out doesn’t help the team win. It’s just that walk of shame back to the dugout. I learned a lot from that part of my season. I learned a lot about how to play the game, workload and how to honestly deal with failure because it’s going to happen again. I plan to play for a long time, and I’m sure things will come up where I have to learn. I’m glad I got to learn those things.”
When Pirates farm director John Baker visited PNC Park on May 9, he was dismissive toward any alarms about Johnson’s strikeout rate. Baker noted that Johnson was only 18 at the time — about two years younger than many players at that level — and had missed the at-bats to help get his timing down in spring training.
“Those at-bats are getting better and better,” Baker said. “We will see the strikeout rate decrease significantly over time. I’m not concerned about him swinging the bat at all. He’s pretty special.”
Baker was right. Johnson’s strikeouts-to-walk ratio increased the following month, right around the time when Johnson celebrated his birthday June 11. Once he adjusted to the pitch clock, Johnson found a groove. He batted only .209 but had a .382 on-base percentage with six home runs and 16 RBIs with 23 walks against 32 strikeouts in June but flipped those totals in July by drawing 30 walks against 18 strikeouts while slashing .260/.468/.545 with six homers and 18 RBIs.
Johnson was promoted to High-A Greensboro in August and posted a .428 on-base percentage with two doubles, five homers and 15 RBIs in 30 games for the Grasshoppers. He had almost as many walks (23) as strikeouts (25) in his first month at the advanced level.
“With what he did last year — the walk rates, the swing rates — for a 19-year-old kid, you don’t see that,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Watching him take ground balls is impressive. The way he moves his feet. It’s exciting to see a young guy like that within our group. He’s removed from that competition a little bit, but the strides that he’s made in a year as a player are really good.”
Although Johnson isn’t considered part of the competition for the starting job at second base, he’s taking practice repetitions alongside Ji Hwan Bae, Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero and Jared Triolo and doesn’t look out of place.
Despite carrying a reputation for his bat, Johnson understands the importance of becoming a better defender.
“You’ve got to play defense to win. Defense wins championships. For me, I’ve got to be a great defensive player because I want to be a winner,” Johnson said. “That’s what I want to pride myself on. I took that very serious, treated it like a battle, a battle I could overcome.
“I made good strides, and I’m still learning. There’s still things I don’t know too much about with fielding and things that I want to learn. My ear is wide open on how to become a complete defender, a complete hitter, a complete baserunner. I want to be complete at everything, at every part of the game.”
Johnson isn’t sure which minor league level he’s going to start this season but knows where he wants to end it.
“I’m just ready for whatever comes,” Johnson said. “Of course I want to be in the big leagues. I wake up every day to be one of those players. I train every day to be in the big leagues.”