GREENSBORO, N.C. -- To say that Termarr Johnson had lofty expectations from the moment he was drafted is an understatement. He was heralded as one of the best prep-hitting prospects in recent draft history, getting a few comparisons to current Hall of Famers for his advanced feel for hitting.
Baseball, however, is hard and can humble even the most talented players.
“This game challenges you in a unique way,” Greensboro manager Blake Butler said when talking about Johnson’s early-season struggles. “It’s a challenging game that sometimes we don’t know why we love it so much because it can be so challenging.”
The Pirates have been aggressive with Johnson from the moment they drafted him. He played at Class A Bradenton after being drafted at 18 and got his first taste of Class A Greensboro at 19. In fact, by the time he turned 20 this past June, he already had 363 plate appearances with the Grasshoppers.
It was a trying start to the season for Johnson, who batted just .200/.381/.323 with three home runs in 202 plate appearances through May. For a player who flashed plus power potential and was playing in a known hitter’s haven at First National Bank Field, those numbers were a bit underwhelming.
Something wasn’t working. Butler talked about a time in Bowling Green when Johnson approached him about him not getting the results he wanted, despite doing what he felt was the right thing at the plate.
“I just encouraged him to be consistent," Butler said.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do during a long baseball season is to keep working at it and trust that things will come. Keep doing the right things daily, and success will follow. Butler said that Johnson never wavered from his plan, despite the struggles, no matter how low things got.
“He continued to work hard," Butler said. "If anything I would say he started to challenge himself even more in the work day.”
As Johnson continued to challenge himself, the results started to show. From June 1 through the rest of his time in Greensboro, he batted .263/.366/.425 with 10 home runs in 285 plate appearances.
Termarr Johnson, the @Pirates' No. 3 prospect, absolutely DEMOLISHED this ball and the scoreboard operator had something to say about it 😂 pic.twitter.com/t5v8k9ZW3p
— MLB (@MLB) August 19, 2024
He was driving the ball more often without extending himself outside of the zone. Despite a promotion to Class AA Altoona nearly two weeks ago, Johnson is still second in the South Atlantic League in walks. Now with the Curve, Johnson will remain one of the youngest players in whatever league he plays in. He’s recently crossed over 1,000 career plate appearances in the minors and has yet to face a pitcher younger than him.
That alone should give perspective on the difficulties the game can present, without even the fact that, again, baseball is hard. Realizing that there is going to be a certain amount of failure in the game can go a long way toward future success, and it seems that once Johnson started to embrace that, things began to shift.
“Just recognizing that it was going to be a difficult year for him, a difficult level for him, and just continue to work hard, if not harder," Butler said. "And he was able to find the results.”
