Pirates prospect update: Termarr Johnson finishes strong with Altoona

Another year is in the books for the former first round draft choice.

A little over three weeks ago, Termarr Johnson was called-up from High-A Greensboro to Double-A Altoona after having his best stretch of games through June and July. As one of the Pirates’ top prospects, many are anticipating an appearance in the big leagues soon, but there is still work to do with the Curve. Thankfully, after a strong end to the season, Johnson is in a great position moving forward.

Typical of Johnson, he started the season off incredibly slow at the plate, with many wondering who was impersonating Pittsburgh’s top infielder during this slump. However leading up to the All-Star break, Johnson was on a 12-game hit streak, then extending it to 17 on the season before receiving the call from Altoona. Johnson ended his season in Greensboro with a .238 batting average, 13 homers, and 20 stolen bases, finishing July with a .319 average.

As many expected, he did not adjust greatly to Double-A pitchers right away, again going through a bit of a slump during his first at bats. Greensboro is also a considerably more batter-friendly ball park, and Johnson clearly still needs to develop some power at the plate. That being said, in his short time with the club, Johnson was able to put together more complete performances offensively. His .229/.316/.396 line doesn’t jump off the page, but he did end the season strong against Richmond, tallying 3 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, and scored twice.

Moving forward, it feels like the Pirates organization is setting Johnson up for success at the next level by finally moving Oneil Cruz to the outfield and having Nick Gonzales playing second and short. While the spot is not absolutely his, it does create a situation where there is an opening in the middle of the infield for Johnson. Moving forward though, he still needs to develop more offensively, creating more consistency as a hitter and working on his power especially. I’m optimistic that he finds his time in Altoona and eventually Indy beneficial, but as of late, it’s clear to see that the organization’s hitting coaches are not up to championship standards.

Johnson should be a non-roster invitee for Spring Training, where hopefully he can have a good showing and then get off to a good start once the Minor League season begins. He currently has an expected Major League ETA of 2025, with a lot of that depending on how he performs and how far the organization pushes their 20-year old prospect to move up to the next level.