Black MiLB Players #13: 2B Termarr Johnson, Pittsburgh Pirates
Termarr Johnson is on the path towards a profile as an offensive oriented second baseman. He was drafted fourth overall in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Mays High School in Atlanta, Georgia.
Background + Path to Professional Baseball
19-year-old Termarr Johnson is a second baseman in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from Atlanta, Georgia. He was drafted with the fourth overall pick of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Mays High School by Pittsburgh. He received a $7 million dollar signing bonus to forego his commitment to Arizona State University’s baseball program on a full scholarship. He was one of the highest-rated high school prospects in a talented 2022 class that included Jackson Holliday, Druw Jones, and Elijah Greene.
His professional career started during the 2022 MiLB season, making brief cameos in the Rookie-level FCL and Low-A Florida League. He went .222/.366/.365 in 82 plate appearances across 23 games. Johnson was assigned to Pittsburgh’s Low-A affiliate in the Florida State League to begin the 2023 MiLB season. He went .244/.420/.448 in 330 plate appearances across 75 games, hitting 10 doubles and 14 home runs. He was promoted to High-A in late August and continued to perform offensively, posting a .242/.428/.414 slashline in 30 games. Johnson posted a 141 wRC+ during his stint in Low-A and a 142 wRC+ during his time in High-A in 2023.
Player Profile
Termarr Johnson is 5’8’’, and weighs around 175 pounds. He has a diminutive frame that does not offer much projection and is an average athlete.
Hitting
Johnson bats left-handed, standing in the batter’s box with a crouch. There’s a lot of noise in his swing, rocking his hands as he loads them into place on top of employing a high leg kick. He will keep the foot planted in two-strike counts.
His approach is oriented around pulling the ball. Despite his small size, Johnson accumulates extra-base hits at a high rate because of his upward swing path. He strikes out at a high rate and has posted middling batting averages that are dangerously close to the Mendoza Line. He whiffs on a ton of pitches in the strike zone while somehow finding a way to chase very few offerings outside of the strike zone. His swinging strike and in-zone contact rates at Low-A and High-A suggest issues making contact that are oriented around his mechanics and bat path.
As Johnson accumulates more plate appearances in the upper minors where pitchers walk fewer batters and have batter stuff, it will be important to observe if he maintains the elite walk rate that has been the carrying tool in his offensive profile. Discerning whether his approach and ability to identify spin are that advanced or that he is just taking advantage of Low-A pitchers with non-competitive stuff/command will drastically shift his whole profile.
Fielding
Johnson is a below-average second baseman in almost every aspect that can be accounted for. His range is limited due to a lack of athleticism and dull instincts. His hands are very poor, as a lot of his errors come from attempts to secure balls put in play. He frequently fumbles transfer attempts on groundballs that require quick flips to his double-play partner or hurried throws to first base. His throwing arm has the requisite strength but lacks consistent accuracy on tough plays going away from first base and when attempting to turn double plays. Despite all of this he has a solid internal clock and his effort/engagement levels are high.
Baserunning
Based on his home to first times Johnson is a slightly below-average runner. He doesn’t have any notable baserunning acumen and isn’t much of a base stealer.
Conclusion
While Termarr Johnson isn’t the contact-oriented, slick-fielding second baseman that he was advertised to be before the 2022 MLB Draft, he still has a combination of intriguing tools and interesting skills. The Georgia native will not have success in the upper minors unless the on-base skills are truly as legitimate as they appear and he finds a way to accrue extra-base hits. Based on the nature of his weaknesses, I don’t see a reality where he becomes more competent on defense or as a baserunner. I also don’t see how he has success in the batter’s box unless he drastically changes his swing in an attempt to make more contact.