Pirates Top Prospect Launches Wild Home Run
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PITTSBURGH — A top Pittsburgh Pirates prospect continues showing his strong power from the plate in 2025.
Pirates second baseman Termarr Johnson, playing for the Double-A Altoona Curve, faced off against Erie Seawolves, Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, left-handed pitcher Carolos Pena in the top of the fourth inning.
Johnson took a pitcher near the top of the zone in on the hands and crushed it over the right field wall, 106.9 mph, for a solo shot, cutting the Curve's deficit to 2-1.
Termarr Johnson 🚀
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 7, 2025
MLB's No. 77 prospect (@Pirates No. 4) launches a towering shot 106.9 mph off the bat for his fourth roundtripper of the season for the @AltoonaCurve. pic.twitter.com/JWAxnfNArJ
He would finish with one hit in five at-bats, a walk and a strikeout in the 6-4 loss to Erie in 12 innings.
This marked his fourth home run of the season, with his last coming on April 25 vs. the Chesapeake Baysox, the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
Johnson is in his first full season with Altoona, slashing .245/.336/.382 for an OPS of .718, in 26 games, with 25 hits, two doubles, four home runs, nine RBIs, 14 walks to 23 strikeouts and five stolen bases.
The Pirates selected Johnson with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Benjamin Elijah Mayes High School in Atlanta. Johnson chose a $7,219,000 signing bonus with the Pirates over his commitment to Arizona State.
He started with the Rookie-Level Florida Complex League Pirates, before Pittsburgh promoted him to the Bradenton Marauders of the Single-A Florida State League after nine games.
Johnson began the 2023 season with Bradenton, where he slashed .244/.419/.448 with 61 hits in 250 at-bats, 10 doubles, 13 home runs, 44 RBI and 72 walks to 88 strikeouts in 75 games.
He earned a promotion to the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in August 2023, where he played 30 games and slashed .242/.427/.414 with 24 hits in 99 at-bats, two doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI and 29 walks to 32 strikeouts.
Johnson spent most of 2024 with Greensboro, slashing .238/.372/.385 for an OPS of .757 in 110 games, with 94 hits, 17 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 46 RBIs, 78 walks to 105 strikeouts and 20 stolen bases.
He earned promotion to Altoona on Aug. 27, where he slashed .229/.316/.396 for an OPS of .712 in 14 games, with 11 hits, two doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs and seven walks to 11 strikeouts.
Johnson played with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League and then earned a spot on Team USA for the WBSC Premier12.
He is the No. 4 prospect in the Pirates minor league system and the No. 77 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.