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A year ago, almost exactly to the day, Termarr Johnson made, up to that point, the biggest decision of his life: his choice of college.

On May 10, 2022, Johnson announced that he would attend Arizona State University. Of course, Johnson’s decision generated more headlines than that of the average teenager. Johnson was one of the best prep players in the country, and now, he was set to take his talents from Atlanta, Ga. to Tempe, Ariz.

Johnson never had the opportunity to take the field as a Sun Devil. Several weeks later, he’d make an even grander decision. The pros were calling.

“Last year, I had to call my mom for everything. I had to figure out a way to get A’s in classes,” Johnson said. “It’s definitely a switch. Now, I’m figuring out what I need to do to get ready for a baseball game, what I’m working and how I’m getting better every day. I’m grateful just to be in this position and be able to play baseball every day. I know a lot of kids would love to do it, and this is what I dreamed of.”

For Johnson, this is the first time in his life that he’s been away from home -- truly on his own. In addition to learning what it’s like to be a professional baseball player, he’s learning what it’s like to be an adult and everything that comes with it. 

There were some elements of adulthood that Johnson knew he’d have to handle, little things like doing his own laundry or preparing his own food. Some other errands, however, are a tad foreign.

“This morning, I had to get my car serviced and that took a good minute,” Johnson said. “I had to wake up pretty early for it. Last year, I didn’t have to do that. I had brothers or my mom to do it for me. I didn’t realize that I had to get it done so early. It definitely made me look at myself and think, ‘Man, I’m a grown up now. I gotta go about life a different way.’”

While Johnson’s day-to-day life off the field has been different, baseball remains baseball. 

Johnson got his feet wet following last year’s Draft, slashing .222/.366/.365 across 82 plate appearances with the FCL Pirates and SIngle-A Bradenton. This past spring, Johnson participated in his first Major League Spring Training, sharing a clubhouse with players such as Andrew McCutchen, Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz.

Johnson sustained a right hamstring injury several days into workouts that cut his time in big league camp short, but the 18-year-old didn’t leave empty-handed, learning how his peers handle their business on a daily basis. 

“It was great to be around those guys,” Johnson said. “I hope those guys are my teammates in the next few years. We want to build a World Series championship team around that team.”

“One of the things we told him was just enjoy your first big league camp,” said manager Derek Shelton at the beginning of Spring Training. “You’re going to look back 15 years from now and smile about it.”

If Johnson is still playing in 15 years, it will likely be due in large part to his bat. Johnson was widely considered the best prep bat of the 2022 MLB Draft. Upon officially signing with the Pirates last July, Johnson noted that he had heard himself compared to the likes of Barry Bonds, José Ramirez and Robinson Cano. 

Johnson believes his biggest focus is becoming more selective with the type of pitches he swings at. The lefty knows he has the ability to put pitches of all types and locations in play, but his goal is to consistently “do damage on every pitch.” Johnson, only 31 games in, has yet to truly erupt at the plate, but various members of the organization have praised what they’ve seen thus far.  

“It’s almost like it’s better than you even thought to watch him,” said hitting coach Andy Haines. “There’s thunder in his bat. He gets through the zone. It’s electric. He doesn’t have to cheat to do it; it’s not like he’s swinging and missing or it’s crude. It’s a beautiful left-handed swing with thunder in there and he hits it to all parts of the park.” 

“It doesn’t take a genius to look at him and watch him swing the bat and be able to tell he’s got bat speed,” said Marauders manager Jonathan Johnston. 

Added Pirates manager Derek Shelton, “The way the ball comes off hit bat, it really shows why we identified him as the guy we were going to take.”

Johnson hasn’t just received praise for his prowess with the bat, but for his personality as well. Despite being a teenager, Johnson has drawn praise for his humility and maturity. 

“I would say as a person, you can see he has a pretty magnetic personality,” Haines said. “He’s an easy guy to gravitate to. You can just see the type of person he is … you gravitate towards him.”

“He’s got an infectious personality and you can tell that he wants to go out and win,” Johnston said. “I think he rubs off on his teammates in a lot of good ways. He just brings it, every day. He wants to get better. He wants to work hard, and we really love having him around.”

Johnson has only played eight games this season after missing several weeks due to the hamstring injury, and despite the slow start (.541 OPS), he’s reached base in all but one game. As spring gives way to summer, Johnson, too, might begin heating up. 

As far as goals for his first full season, Johnson is keeping things simple: hit well, field well and be a good teammate. As far as his career, however, Johnson has grand ambitions. 

He wants to put together a Hall of Fame career; he wants to be one of the best players in the league; and he wants to bring some gold to Pittsburgh. He stands by that. 

“Every team I’m on, I just want to win,” Johnson said. “I just want to make sure that I go in, day in and day out, and win this game, win tomorrow’s game, win this series, win the year. That’s where I’m at; I’m just trying to win. That’s the only way that this career is going to go the way I want it to go: if we win.”