Ten Observations: More Aggressive Approach From Termarr Johnson?

Ten observations from the previous week in the minor leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This will be a new feature that will probably run every Monday, a column of sorts where I just kind of unload 10 rapid thoughts/observations from watching over the previous week.

Obviously with this being on the newer side of things, I may toy around with what kind of content to expect, but not too much. At the end you will get some sort of update on the system on a daily basis, and the premium subscribers can expect at least 2-3 paid articles weekly.

I’m also working on the best way to present that.

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Termarr Johnson, Too Passive?

Most of the best hitting prospects are in Pittsburgh right now, making Termarr Johnson probably the best one remaining in the minors, potentially by a long shot.

He’s making all the adjustments you would want to see from a Top-10 pick, which is allowing him to tap into that power potential more and more.

One thing we see at the major league level is hitters maybe taking more pitches than is ideal, sometimes putting themselves behind in the count. Johnson has done a fantastic job drawing walks - a good chunk have been ‘Single-A free passes’ where most of the pitches aren’t close - but at times it would be nice to see him get a little more aggressive.

There have been some opportunities where it seems he could have gotten a little more aggressive early in the count, especially with how well he’s been hitting the ball lately.

Hard to argue with results, but the walks will come by default being in Single-A, when a player is hot, you want them to swing the bat.

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Owen Kellington had perhaps the best start I’ve seen from him this season last time around. He was an intriguing arm that the Pirates took in the 2021 draft, mostly due to the lack of information on him, outside his insane video game strikeout numbers.

His curveball immediately stuck out to me, as it was generating a lot of swing and miss early on. That hasn’t been the case of late, as he’s struggled with his control, and it’s been easier to lay off those pitches.

While he doesn’t have the most overpowering fastball (averaging around 90 mph), he commanded it well on Friday, throwing it 25 times and putting up solid metrics on it (42.8 Whiff%, 44 CSW%).

The key? Throwing strikes.

Not sure what his upside is yet, but will need more outings like this to work towards it.

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One thing I was excited about this week was getting a chance to really dive into watching Lonnie White Jr. and Yordany De Los Santos, two more intriguing hitters at maybe the best affiliate when it comes to position players.

They both struggled early, but it was with stuff that wasn’t too much a surprise. YDLS looked like it was a timing issue, as he was even missing on fastballs. Lonnie didn’t look too confident against breaking pitches.

You’ve started to see the confidence grow a bit. YDLS hit a single the other way, scoring two runs in the process. It was a solid piece of hitting.

A couple of balls into straight into the ground has blown up White’s early average exit velocity, but he’s flashed some power, with an 90th percentile mark of 101. He’s showing a bit more confidence at the plate as well.

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There isn’t a lot of depth when it comes to the outfield in the system, especially when you look at the upper levels. That may not necessarily be a bad thing, as the current Pirates outfield might be the most ideal solution going forward.

Maybe, worst case, find a more permanent solution to platoon with Suwinski, in case he never improves against lefties. Henry Davis and Suwinski both seem to have 30-home run potential, with Bryan Reynolds hitting mid-20s twice.

The potential is there, this is just the year to take the lumps.

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We can say what we want about the Pirates strategy when it comes to promoting to the majors, but they’ve been fairly aggressive in the minors, at times.

With August right around the corner, the minor league season is about to hit the final stretch, meaning there is some potential for some last minute promotions, and to get a little aggressive once again.

Promoting now probably won’t change where that player starts the following season, but it does allow them to get a taste of what they will face in 2024.

The obvious names mostly reside in Bradenton, Josiah Sightler and Termarr Johnson. Already in Greensboro, the Pirates did this last year with Jase Bowen, and they could again, especially with Matt Gorski on the IL.

Another outfielder in High-A, Tres Gonzalez, is hitting better as of late and as an advanced college bat might not be out of place in Altoona.

We may be able to get a small glimpse into what the Pirates plans are for a given player if we get some sort of roster shuffle here in the coming weeks.

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Man, these are going for a while, let’s fire off some rapid fire stuff, so you are not here all day.

• He may not hit for much of any power, but I really enjoy watching Jesus Castillo play baseball. He’s become the super utility guy for Bradenton, playing every where in the infield (even first) and even some left field, and he plays strong defense at each one of them. He’s also become a second lead off hitter of sorts batting in the nine hole most nights.

• Didn’t look ideal on the stat sheet, but I liked the bounce back start from Anthony Solometo. His one last weekend ultimately didn’t count, but it was far from pretty to start. Control was a lot better, and he was painting the corner with the arm side fastball, using that to throw a back-foot slider.

• That was easily the best two game stretch I’ve seen from Bubba Chandler. The fastball is electric, but the change up has the chance to be just as good, maybe better. It has incredible fade on it, and legitimately gives him an opportunity to have two ‘70’ grade pitches, with the slider also having plus potential.

• Jared Jones was having a lights out start on Saturday through the first three innings. He labored in the fourth and was after that frame. He threw multiple fastballs at 99 mph, and the breaking pitches looked good. The velocity has been starting to dip in the later innings, especially of late, so I’m not sure if he needs to dial it back a bit early on to make sure he works late into games. That’s always been the question mark about Jones, if he’ll be able to hold up as a starter. It’s exciting to see him pump 99 a bunch of times, but it’d be even more valuable for the Pirates to see him consistently hit 5/6 innings or more.

• Man, I really try to not get excited about a prospect before actually watch him play, but between the people I’ve talked to, and what I’ve read, I was quickly buying into Yordany De Los Santos going into the season. After a slow start, he’s quickly showing why there has been so much buzz about him. Maybe just as impressive as his offense, has been how smooth defensively he’s been - at third base and shortstop.