Perrotto: Termarr Johnson’s Early Spring Exit Leaves Everyone Wanting More (+)
Termarr Johnson was the youngest player in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ major-league spring training camp this year.
The 18-year-old infielder was in camp as a non-roster invitee less than a year after he was selected with fourth overall pick in the amateur draft from Mays High School in Atlanta.
Unfortunately for Johnson, he also had the distinction of being the first player sent to minor-league camp. The Pirates reassigned Johnson on Friday after he sustained a strained right hamstring earlier in the week in Bradenton, Fla.
That’s too bad for Johnson. And it’s also too bad for Pirates’ fans.
While Johnson had zero chance of making the big-league club, it would have been fun to at least get a glimpse of Johnson in the exhibition games. In fact, fun was the operative word while watching the ball jump off Johnson’s bat during batting practice during the early days of spring training.
The 5-foot-7 left-hander makes up in energy and charisma what he lacks in height.
“I just love to play the game and I want to learn as much as I can,” Johnson said before being reassigned.
Johnson showed he had a learning curve last summer during his professional debut season. However, he also flashed the talent that persuaded the Pirates to take him with their first draft pick.
Johnson .222/.366/.365 combined with one home run and six stolen bases in 23 games with Low-A Bradenton and in the rookie-level Florida Complex League. He showcased his speed and his discerning batting eye.
Johnson’s showing was good enough that MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and FanGraphs all rank him as the Pirates’ top prospect. Baseball America has him No. 2 behind catcher Endy Rodriguez.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton was impressed by Johnson during his brief stay in camp.
“Just the way the ball comes off hit bat, it really shows why we identified him as the guy we were going to take,” Shelton said before Johnson was the first cut. “I have been able to see some of his defensive stuff. The improvements he’s made since we drafted him to now can tell that he’s really paid attention to it. He’s working at it. His feet are working really well. His arm stroke has worked really well.
“It’s really encouraging to see. It’s not easy. He’s an 18-year-old kid in major league camp. I think we have to be aware of that. But he’s got some presence about him, which is a really cool thing.”
Sometimes, it is hard to believe Johnson is still a teenager as he carries himself like someone older. When his teammates ribbed him about being the target of many autograph-seeking fans at Pirate City, he would just smile and shrug it off.
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However, what stood out most about Johnson was his smile and engaging personality.
“One of things we told him was just enjoy your first big league camp,” Shelton said. “You’re gonna look back 15 years from now and smile about it.”
It will be 2038 in 15 years and Johnson will be 33 years old.
That may seem like a long time, but Andrew McCutchen’s first spring training was in 2006. He is still going strong 17 years later.
That is not to say Johnson will become a star like McCutchen. However, his brief time in major-league camp suggests he has a pretty good chance.
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