PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s an organization with several high-level middle infield prospects-Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales, Tucupita Marcano and Liover Peguero. Why did the Pirates use their first-round pick on another shortstop, Atlanta high schooler Termarr Johnson?
“He was the best player on the board at four and that’s what we were looking to do in the draft; take the best player available every time we pick and get as many good players as we can,” said Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington. “We know to win we need lots of good players. We think Termarr has a chance to be one of them.”
“Going into the draft trying to get the best collection of players and not focused on any position or demographic.”
The talk around Johnson is big, MLB.com saying he may be the best prep hitter in decades. It’s not just the talk from the outside. Listen to Johnson talk about himself being the best player in the draft, starting at shortstop, becoming a captain and winning a championship.
For the Pirates, it doesn’t cross the line into cockiness.
“Really good Major League players are usually pretty confident,” Cherington said. “We like hearing it. He’s confident but one of the things that stuck us as we got to know him, we think he has a nice combination of confidence and humility.”
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“He’s a guy who’s always working, always looking to get better. Has worked really hard on his defensive game, harder than many high school kids.”
“I think a couple of things foundationally make Termarr special,” said Pirates Senior Director of Amateur Scouting Joe DelliCarri. “How passionate he really is about his dynamics in the box. How intense and specific he is in the details of how he goes about his offensive game draws us to him. We think he will be a learner and continue to study himself.”
“He likes to hit, but knows a lot more about hitting than some other young kids and he’s passionate about it. We think that will continue.”
Projected by some baseball experts to eventually be a second baseman. Johnson doesn’t want to play second and Cherington confirmed his first-round pick will begin his career at shortstop. He did say, like all young middle infielders in the organization, he will get at least some reps at second.
“He’s a confident young man, he should be,” Cherington said. “He’s talented. He was the fourth overall pick in the country. He needs to be confident to be a good big leaguer. This is someone who has worked really hard too. He is humble and works hard every day. It’s a nice combination.”
“He can hit everything,” DelliCarri said. “He’s got a dynamic swing, but he has a dynamic feel with those hands to make adjustments. He has a lot of things going in his favor.”
“We believe in him.”