Pirates Prospect Watch: Termarr Johnson Homers, Reaches Base Six Times

The main thing that made Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Termarr Johnson the fourth-overall pick in last year’s draft was his ability to hit.

The hitting ability was on full display with the Bradenton Marauders on Wednesday afternoon when Johnson homered, collected four hits and reached base safely in all six of his plate appearances.

Johnson’s huge day at the plate boosted his already strong numbers in his first full season of professional baseball as the recently-turned 19-year-old is considered to be one of the top prospects in the Pirates’ system.

In addition to Johnson, here are the players who stood out from Wednesday’s minor league action.

Indianapolis (29-34)

C Henry Davis

• Game stats: 2 for 3, one double, one run, one HBP
• Season stats: .280/.419/.520, one double, one triple, one home run, three RBIs, one steal, seven games

DH Aaron Shackelford

• Game stats: 1 for 4, one double
• Season stats: .252/.388/.466, nine doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 25 RBIs, six steals, 52 games

Davis had another nice game for Indianapolis and Shackelford collected his ninth double on the season but the Indians were defeated by the Iowa Cubs 8-1.

Ryan Vilade was the only other Pirates’ prospect to record a hit.

Altoona (30-27)

C Abrahan Gutierrez

• Game stats: 3 for 5, two doubles, three RBIs
• Season stats: .333/.357/.704, four doubles, two home runs, six RBIs, seven games

1B Matt Gorski

• Game stats: 3 for 4, one run, one steal
• Season stats: .258/.314/.441, eight doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 31 RBIs, 10 steals, 49 games

Guttierez and Gorski gad three hits apiece but Altoona was defeated 5-4 by the Somerset Patriots.

Pirates prospect Jared Jones allowed one run and struck out six in 3.1 innings for the Curve.

Greensboro (32-25)

2B Brendan Dixon

• Game stats: 1 for 3, one double, one RBI, one sac fly
• Season stats: .192/.309/.359, four doubles, three home runs, 11 RBIs, one steal, 24 games

2B Mike Jarvis

• Game stats: 1 for 3, one run, one walk
• Season stats: .231/.327/.493, seven doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 30 RBIs, 12 steals, 36 games

Not a whole lot to highlight in Greensboro’s 5-2 loss to the Greenville Drive.

Pirates prospects Michell Miliano, Jake Stevenson and Jack Carey combined for 3.1 innings of scoreless relief and four strikeouts.

Bradenton (31-28)

2B Termarr Johnson

• Game stats: 4 for 4, one home run, two doubles, four RBIs, four runs, two walks
• Season stats: .254/.416/.408, eight doubles, four home runs, 22 RBIs, three steals, 39 games

CF Shalin Polanco

• Game stats: 3 for 6, two doubles, three RBIs, two runs, one steal
• Season stats: .237/.322/.446, 10 doubles, nine home runs, 34 RBIs, eight steals, 46 games

Huge games from Johnson and Polanco led to an offensive explosion, leading to an 18-9 win for Bradenton over the Fort Myers Mighty Muscles.

Pirates prospect Enmanuel Terrero was on base three times, drove in a run, scored twice and stole a base. Catcher Luis Hernandez drove in three runs.