Termarr Johnson hit his fifth homer of the year on Saturday night for Greensboro. The 2022 fourth overall pick has struggled this season in High-A, but looks like he might be breaking out of his funk.
After going 2-for-4 with the homer on Saturday, Johnson is batting .300/.440/.650 with two homers during the month of June. His hitting started before the turn of the month.
On May 18th, Johnson went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk in the second game of a double header. Since that date, Johnson is batting .288/.413/.576 with four homers and seven doubles in 80 plate appearances.
Johnson is the best hitting prospect in the system, led by advanced contact abilities from the 19-year-old. He also has the ability for plus power, and could eventually be a well-rounded hitter who can hit and hit for power. He showed power last year in his debut, and showed his raw contact abilities with adjustments during his at-bats in MLB Spring Training this year.
Hopefully the last few weeks are a sign that Johnson is starting to put everything together.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 4-3
- RF-1B Jake Lamb: 2-for-4, 2 RBI
- CF Gilberto Celestino: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
- SS Liover Peguero: 1-for-3
- RHP Isaac Mattson: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 4 K
- RHP Ryder Ryan: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Drake Fellows opened the game with three runs in four innings, dealing with control problems that led to six walks. The bullpen picked him up, led by four innings combined from Isaac Mattson and Ryder Ryan. Jake Lamb got the Pirates off to a 2-0 lead with a single in the first inning, as one of his two hits.
STATCAST HEROES
Matt Gorski didn’t have a hit, but had the hardest contact for Indianapolis, with a 107.2 groundout into a double play.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA won 4-3
- 2B-SS Tsung-Che Cheng: 3-for-5, 2 2B
- RF Yoyner Fajardo: 2-for-4, RBI
- CF Sammy Siani: 1-for-4
- RHP J.C. Flowers: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
- RHP Justin Meis: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
The Pirates recently re-acquired Yoyner Fajardo from the Twins for cash. Fajardo was originally signed by the Pirates in March 2018, but was lost to the Twins in the minor league Rule 5 draft in 2022. He spent the 2023 season in Double-A, batting .305/.375/.446 with nine homers. The Twins sent him to Triple-A this year, where he hit .229/.274/.362 with four homers. Fajardo has a lot of pull-side power from a high-torque ability in his core during his swing. The Pirates are giving the 25-year-old another shot in Double-A.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO lost 8-6, despite hitting five home runs, including one from Termarr Johnson.
- LHP Dominic Perachi: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
- LHP Jaden Woods: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
- 1B Josiah Sightler: 2-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI
- LF Luke Brown: 1-for-4, HR
- CF Joshua Palacios: 1-for-4, HR
Dominic Perachi and Jaden Woods combined for seven shutout innings, before the bullpen allowed the game to slip away. P.J. Hilson, an outfielder, was used for the final two outs. Joshua Palacios continued his rehab work, hitting a solo homer in the seventh inning. He didn’t play a complete game. Josiah Sightler hit homers in the second and third innings. Luke Brown homered in the eighth, giving Greensboro a two run lead at the time.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON won 2-1
- RHP Scott Randall: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
- RHP Khristian Curtis: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K
- LF Braylon Bishop: 1-for-4, HR
- C Omar Alfonzo: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
- LHP Magdiel Cotto: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Braylon Bishop led off the game with his fourth homer of the year. All four homers have come since May 21st, with Bishop hitting consistently since returning to Bradenton on May 15th. Scott Randall, acquired in the Diego Castillo trade, has been building up in the lower levels after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He threw three perfect innings, which was his third outing of three innings. It’s unlikely that he expands much beyond that in his first year back.
STATCAST HEROES
Khristian Curtis averaged 95.1 MPH on his fastball, touching 96.9. His slider led to five whiffs on eight swings, and five more called strikes for a 45% CSW. He threw eight curveballs, with one whiff on one swing, and four more called strikes for a 63% CSW. Curtis throws six pitches, but threw a four-seam or slider in 54 of 82 pitches on Saturday.
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
FCL PIRATES won 6-1
- 3B Jhonny Severino: 1-for-3, HR, BB, 3 RBI
- DH Tony Blanco Jr.: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
- 2B Roinny Aguiar: 2-for-3, 2 SB
- RF Juan Machado: 1-for-2, BB, SB
- RHP Carlos Castillo: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Jhonny Severino hit his sixth home run of the season. The Pirates added him last year in the Carlos Santana trade. He’s batting .298/.396/.607 in 101 plate appearances this year in the FCL. Carlos Castillo is an 18-year-old who was signed by the Pirates at the start of the 2023 signing period. He put up a 1.70 ERA in 11 starts last year in the Dominican, with 40 strikeouts and 15 walks in 37 innings. So far in six games this year in the FCL, he has a 3.32 ERA in 19 innings, with a 16:10 K/BB ratio.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES BLACK VS GOLD
DSL PIRATES GOLD beat DSL PIRATES BLACK 10-2
- 1B Angel Perez: 2-for-2, 2 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI
- LF Edward Florentino: 1-for-3, 2B, BB
- RF Angel Aquino: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI
The Gold team won, led by five doubles. Edward Florentino, signed this January, hit his second of the year. Angel Perez, signed last January, had his first two doubles of the season.
SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 1:35 PM – LHP Michael Plassmeyer (1-4, 8.07)
- Double-A: Altoona, 1:35 PM – LHP Anthony Solometo (0-4, 6.43)
- High-A: Greensboro, 2:00 PM – RHP Derek Diamond (3-0, 2.70)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 12:00 PM – LHP Connor Oliver (0-2, 5.26)
- The rookie leagues are off on Sunday.
