This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BRADENTON, Fla. -- After a year of globetrotting, some time at home this winter sounded just fine to Termarr Johnson.
The Pirates’ No. 4 prospect (and No. 83 overall, according to MLB Pipeline) got to see a lot of the world in 2024. He made the jump from High-A Greensboro to Double-A Altoona midseason. He was Pittsburgh's hitting representative at the Futures Game in Arlington, Texas, during All-Star week. He got the call to participate in the Arizona Fall League once the Minor League season was over, and then he flew over to Japan to take part in the WBSC Premier12 as part of Team USA.
“I want to be the best, so being able to do that early on, have those experiences early on, is important to me,” said Johnson in Bradenton, Fla., home of Pirates Spring Training and his only stop before heading to, most likely, Altoona for his third full season of pro ball.
Johnson got to cross the country -- and the Pacific Ocean -- in 2024, but home is where the heart is. And for him, his home in Atlanta is also where his swing originates.
Johnson’s swing was one of his main selling points ahead of the 2022 Draft, when the Pirates selected the middle infielder fourth overall. It’s also not necessarily his: it’s Tervont Johnson’s swing. Termarr’s older brother is an assistant coach at Georgetown, but his coaching career unofficially began when playing baseball in the house growing up with his brothers.
The swing has influences from Robinson Canó, George Brett and Barry Bonds, and years later it’s still the same basic swing. When everything is clicking, Johnson is drawing power from his lower half to launch the ball. Even when it’s not, he’s shown he can be patient at the plate -- which led to 85 walks last season.
Johnson has personal coaches he’ll work with in the offseason, but the swing is Tervont’s territory.
“He knows what it’s supposed to look like, so it’s helpful,” Johnson said. “‘You need to do this, more of that,’ to get the best output on my swing.”
That swing has served Johnson well so far in pro ball, including a .237/.366/.386 slash line and 15 home runs across the Minors last season despite being one of the youngest players at his level. He’s still growing and learning -- he’ll be the first to tell you that -- and part of that is with his approach.
There can be information overload for young players in their first years of pro ball, but Johnson is able to think less when in the batter’s box. If you know a pitcher and what they like to do, you can just focus on hitting.
“Pro ball, you get a lot of information,” Johnson said. “Guys tell you a lot of things about how a different fastball moves. We just talked in a meeting about VAA, or vertical approach angle. … For me, the way I think when I’m hitting is very simple. See the ball, get in a good hitting position and hit the ball hard.”
And when the swing needs to be addressed, Termarr knows he can call Tervont.
“I know what he’s going to say all the time,” Johnson said. “He’s my biggest critic, other than myself. Every time he has something to say, I know what he’s going to say before he says it. Just having that reassurance from him has been important to me.”
Johnson has passed through two Pirate Minor League affiliates and has two to go until Pittsburgh. He’s steadily risen one level a year thus far, and there could be opportunities in the middle infield in the coming seasons.
We’ll have to wait and see where else he’ll go before then.
“[I’m] learning, getting a lot of experiences,” Johnson said. “Learning a lot of things mentally. Obviously my mental [game] has gotten a lot stronger with everything I’ve done, all the experiences I’ve had.”