PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Fourth overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, Pirates first-round pick Termarr Johnson says he’s ready to get to work. Oh, and he’s confident too.
“I’m a dynamic player,” Johnson said Sunday night. “I believe the Pirates got one of the best players in the Draft if not THE best player in the Draft. I am going to work hard to make sure that I am the best player in the Draft, at the end of the day that is my goal. And I want to be the most successful, not just be drafted.”
MLB.com calls him potentially one of the best high school hitters in decades. Johnson credits a lot of that to his older brother, who he calls a mentor for all the work with him in the cage, on the field and in life. It’s really his family that gave him his swagger, calling them his super heroes.
“When you are in a house full of brothers, you have to have some confidence,” Johnson said. “You have to be confident in yourself because they are not going to give you any confidence. Definitely just playing this game, there are going to be a lot of ups-and-downs. You got to be confident in who you are as a person and player to pick yourself back up when you are down or keep yourself up when you are good.”
While it doesn’t get as much attention, Johnson said he works hard on his fielding and wants to be a shortstop, not second baseman as some have projected. Johnson says he smooth like Francisco Lindor and has the range of a Trea Turner. Really what he is known for is his hitting and he would agree with that. Kind of.
“I like to call myself not the best hitter, I like to say the smartest hitter,” Johnson said. “I kind of have a knack for what to do each at bat and I know how to adjust. I know how to adjust really well if the pitch is 95 or 45 mph. I think I have a knack to adjusting to pitches. I’m very smart. I like to get myself in great hitters counts and help my team win.”
Johnson believes he will be the starting shortstop and captain of the Pirates some day. First things first, will he sign?
Related
While the Atlanta native says he is ready to get to work and get in the cage. He wouldn’t commit to when or if he would sign. Johnson says ‘it’s all on God’s time’.
He does have one guy he can bounce questions off of before he decides. He says he’s been friends with Bucs Class A prospect Bubba Chandler, a third-round Pirates draft pick from Georgia last year. They have played together and against each other since Johnson was 14-years-old.
“I know the Pirates organization is all about hard work,” Johnson said. “I seen that with what they’ve done with Bubba. I’ve seen the work they’ve put in and how Bubba has grown as a person and player.”
“Honestly, I’m ready to get there in that organization because they work hard. I’m a hard worker also. We should be great together.”