Bucs' top prospect Johnson logs big day at the dish

Termarr Johnson came out swinging on the other side of the All-Star break.

Before Friday, the top Pirates prospect had one four-hit effort, one multihomer game and one four-RBI performance to his name, all accomplished in different games. Now, the 19-year-old has two of each, and he achieved all three feats on the same night.

Johnson went deep in his first at-bat of the game and his last, collecting two bunt singles in between as he reached base five times and totaled a career-best 10 bases in Single-A Bradenton’s 8-6 victory over Dunedin.

“It was important to go out there and start the second half with a team win,” Johnson said. “I just try to hit the ball hard right to the middle of the field where it came from. I’m just trying to stay with that approach and stay consistent with it.”

After slugging just seven homers through his first 58 games, MLB’s No. 27 overall prospect has left the yard three times in the past three contests, dating back to before the All-Star break on July 8.

Johnson’s approach to the plate is simple: Hit the ball hard. It worked pretty well in the second frame, when the left-hander demolished a 2-2 offering from Blue Jays righty Rafael Ohashi for a two-run homer to right-center field.

He faced Ohashi again in the fifth, this time electing to drop down a bunt to reach base with a runner on first and his team down a run. He placed it perfectly down the third-base line, and a wild pitch and a groundout brought in the tying run for the Marauders.

“I was just trying to do whatever I had to to help the team win,” Johnson said.

Small ball was successful the first time, so when Bradenton fell behind by a run again leading into the seventh frame, Johnson was keen on sticking with what worked. With the go-ahead run at third base and two down, the Georgia native made the savvy decision to drop down another bunt, scoring teammate Geovanny Planchart and advancing to second on an errant throw from the catcher.

Johnson made sure to provide his team some insurance two frames later, crushing his second dinger of the day to right-center on a 2-0 count off righty Al Pesto. The second baseman went into the at-bat wanting to give reliever Elijah Birdsong a bit more of a cushion.

“It was 7-to-6, bottom of the eighth, I just wanted my closer to have more confidence going out,” Johnson said. “Just wanted to get the ball rolling, get a two-out rally going, get on base and hopefully get one more run across so we could be more comfortable getting the win.”

Taken fourth overall by the Pirates in the 2022 MLB Draft, Johnson came with a considerable amount of hype. Though the numbers don’t yet jump off the page with only 84 pro games under his belt, Johnson knows how to stay mentally strong. To him, improving as a ballplayer means being team-first, no matter what.

“I’m just trying to make sure I help get as many wins as I can,” Johnson said. “Play the best game that I can, be the best teammate, be the best leader out there. If I do that for my team, I feel like I’ll be on the good side of things.”