Termarr becoming a real terror at the plate

Termarr Johnson seems to be wise beyond his years. He just turned 19 on June 11, but MLB Pipeline's No. 19 overall prospect has a clear-cut focus on plate discipline and the results are showing up in the box score ... and over fences.

Johnson launched two homers in a game for the first time in his young career en route to Single-A Bradenton's 6-2 victory over Lakeland. The top Pirates prospect went 3-for-4 with his fourth and fifth long balls in the past eight games. He has gone yard seven times in 44 games.

“It felt great,” Johnson said. “First and foremost, we got the win. We got a good win. It was a close game until the ninth inning, but we stayed with it, played some good baseball, and got the win. So it was just a good game all around.”

Beyond that, the 2022 Draft's fourth overall pick continued to trend upward himself.

Johnson started the night off by turning on a 2-1 pitch by Flying Tigers right-hander Cole Patten in the top of the first inning. With the Marauders down a run in the seventh, the infielder tagged another solo shot off righty reliever Max Alba.

Johnson, who sports a 70-grade hit tool, added a line-drive single to left in the ninth to cap his ninth multi-hit game this season. He attributes that success to increased plate discipline.

“Figuring out what I want to do in each at-bat has helped me a lot with slowing down the game,” he said. “I’m just sticking with the process. The process is the biggest thing. If I stay with that, I’ll find myself on the good side of things.”

With three homers since his birthday, Johnson appears to be heating up with the weather. In addition to making highlight-reel grabs in the infield, he's increasingly been making strides offensively.

When asked about his overall comfort level at the plate, the 5-foot-8, 175-pounder said he “feels really good” but wants to remain focused on squaring up fastballs.

“I’m just trying to stay on the fastball,” Johnson said. “I just want to hit it hard through the middle of the field and give my team a chance to win in each at-bat.”

He's achieving that goal too, the Marauders have won four consecutive games and five of their last six overall.