Pirates' Termarr Johnson Among Top AFL Prospects
Even with only playing 11 games in the Arizona Fall League, Pittsburgh Pirates middle infield prospect found himself ranked among the top players participated in it.
MLB.com's Jim Callis ranked the top 30 prospects who played in the AFL and had Johnson at No. 17, though, he raised concerns about Johnson's ability to live up to the lofty expectations that scouts played upon him as a hitter after Pittsburgh took him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft.
"Another Premier12 participant, Johnson remains a conundrum who hasn't approached the 70 hit grades scouts gave him in high school," Callis writes. "His on-base ability remains a strength as he batted .250/.444/.475 with 14 walks in 11 games, but he's now more of a power-over-hit guy who's an average-at-best runner and defender."
Johnson is the Pirates' No. 3 prospect and the No. 75 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.
The left-handed hitting infield prospect batted .250/.444/.475 with a home run and four RBIs in 40 at-bats. Johnson's homer and two of his RBIs came in his first two at-bats in the first game of the AFL.
He also played in the WBSC Premier 12, representing Team USA in the tournament. Across 29 at-bats, Johnson batted .310/.414/.429 with one home run and two RBIs. He also tallied nine runs scored and walked six times. Team USA reached the Super Round and won the bronze medal.
Johnson spent most of the 2024 season in High-A Greensboro before making a quick cameo for Double-A Altoona. In his 124 games played, Johnson slashed .237/.366.386. hit 15 home runs and drove in 54 runs. He also scored 82 times and stole 22 bases.
With the Pirates' need for hitting, Johnson has a path to the big leagues if he can continue to progress. Their lack of bats throughout the farm system only heightens the need for Johnson to become the hitter Pittsburgh hoped he would become when it drafted him with a top-five pick two years ago.
