Pirates Prospect Makes Premier12 Tournament Debut For Team USA
Pittsburgh Pirates infield prospect Termarr Johnson made his first appearance for Team USA in their 12-2 win over the Netherlands in eight innings in the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 Tournament 2024 Presented by RAXUS in Tepic Mexico.
Johnson went 1-2 with three runs scored and he walked twice in Team USA's first win of the tournament. Team USA lost 1-0 to Puerto Rico in the first game of Premier12 on Saturday. Every team in Group A has a 1-1 record through two games.
The Pirates' middle infield prospect is ranked as the No. 3 prospect in their system and No. 75 overall in all of baseball. He also had a brief stint in the Arizona Fall League, He played in 11 games, hit one home run, drove in four runs, slashed .250/.444/.475 and walked 14 times.
With the game tied 2-2 through two innings, Johnson led off the bottom of the third inning with a walk, then advanced to second on a bunt single from Tampa Bay Rays outfield prospect Chandler Simpson. The Pirates' No. 3 prospect came around to score on an RBI single from Chicago Cubs infield prospect Matt Shaw to break the tie and give Team USA the lead for good and they ended the inning up 5-2.
Shaw, who is MLB Pipeline's No. 22 ranked prospect, went 4-5 with three runs scored and 7 RBIs. He also walked off the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with a three-run home run.
After grounding out in the bottom of the fourth inning, Johnson reached base again in the bottom of the seventh with an infield single. He later scored on a bases-clearing two-run double from Shaw that also scored Simpson.
In his final at-bat of the game, Johnson walked for the second time, helping set the stage for Shaw to walk it off with a home run to right field.
Team USA plays again on Monday when they face Team Venezuela at 9 p.m. ET in Tepic.
