No. 3 prospect Johnson homers in Curve win
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By Jarrod Prugar
For the Mirror
Termarr Johnson, the No. 3-ranked prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization according to MLB Pipeline, helped propel the Altoona Curve to an 8-4 victory over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Wednesday night in front of 3,128 fans at PNG Field.
Johnson slots in behind right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler, who was recently promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis, and infielder Konnor Griffin, who was drafted No. 9 overall in the 2024 MLB Draft.
For Johnson, he's not focused on where he's ranked or any of those types of things, his focus is solely on being the best version of himself.
"I'm just trying to be Termarr Johnson, be who I am," Johnson said.
Who exactly is Termarr Johnson? He is a 5-foot-8, 175-pound infielder from Atlanta, Ga. who wants to hit and do damage on the basepaths.
"I love to hit, man. I love to hit so I feel like that's my strongest," Johnson said. "Getting on base and doing damage there whether it's hitting home runs, taking my walks, hitting singles, doubles, I feel I can do it all."
In just his second full Minor League season, he's proving he can do just that. At High-A Greensboro, Johnson hit 13 home runs, had 46 RBI, chipped in 17 doubles and 21 stolen bases.
Through two games in Altoona, Johnson has walked, stolen a base and homered. It's quite a small sample size, but his impact has certainly been felt which is exactly how he likes it.
"My goal is to help this team win any way I can," Johnson said. "Whether it's on the basepaths, defense, offensively, I plan to come here in all facets and help the guys win."
The Curve have won two games in a row with Johnson in the lineup, and having the 20-year-old Johnson in the lineup is something manager Robby Hammock is excited to see up close.
"His bat speed, exit velocities, things you don't see at that young of an age," Hammock said. "They were seeing this at 17-18, years old, which is stuff that you don't see at Big League levels for successful players, and now he's a 20-year-old kid with some serious impact."
There's still a long way for Johnson to go to get to Pittsburgh, but being in Altoona is certainly a great place for his development to continue, development that involves both the mental and physical aspects of the game.
"I feel like my development's been good mentally and physically," Johnson said. "I've been able to, you know, stay healthy, knock on wood. Thank you God for that. And you know, mentally, I've been trying to just, you know, help the team win and I'm just trying to keep that going."
Johnson is excited to show Curve fans and Pirates fans alike who he is on and off the field. To do that, he plans on keeping it simple.
"Just being a ballplayer, going out there and trying to play ball, it's different," Johnson said. "Every day, the game brings something different every day so I'm just trying to do whatever I can, just to help the team win. One day you may have two walks and be able to do something on the basepaths where the pitchers may worry about you, and some days you may have some home runs you may be lined up, hitting the ball really far."
Five quick hits
The Curve scored in a hurry after five hitters in a row reached base, culminating in a two-run home run by Jase Bowen to give the team a 5-0 lead.
The early runs did not give Hammock a warm, fuzzy feeling, though.
"As the season goes on, it's hard to get comfortable with that," Hammock said. "We've had our ups and downs in those situations so I was glad we were able to add on."
Altoona plated two in the fourth inning as well, courtesy of Johnson's two-run bomb to give the Curve a 7-1 lead. Catcher Eli Wilson hit a solo home run in the home half of the sixth to extend the lead to 8-1.
The Fisher Cats added a run in the seventh and two runs in the eighth, but Altoona shut them down in the ninth to wrap up the victory.
Next up
Altoona sends RHP Po-Yu Chen to the mound tonight. Chen has lost three straight starts and has failed to go beyond the fourth inning in each of those losses.