Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Termarr Johnson Low-A Debut & More

Jul 29, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates first round pick Termarr Johnson and fourth overall player drafted in the 2022 MLB Draft takes batting practice before the Pirates host the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 29, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates first round pick Termarr Johnson and fourth overall player drafted in the 2022 MLB Draft takes batting practice before the Pirates host the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 24: Nick Mears #36 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on September 24, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 24: Nick Mears #36 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on September 24, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Termarr Johnson gets a hit in his Low-A debut, a big night at the plate for Jared Triolo and more in Wednesday’s Pittsburgh Pirates minor league roundup

The Pittsburgh Pirates top farm club, the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, fell to the Rochester Red Wings on Wednesday night. Following their 3-1 loss, the Indians are now just a game over .500 on the season at 59-58.

Offensively, it was a poor night for the Indians. Diego Castillo was 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored, he was driven in by Cal Mitchell who went 2-for-4 with a double and the lone Indian RBI. Kevin Padlo had a hit, Mason Martin had a pair of hits, and the rest of the Indian lineup was 0-for-16 with a Travis Swaggerty walk.

Despite the struggles of the Indianapolis offense, the game was tied at 1 entering the 8th inning. This came after Jerad Eickhoff allowed a run on two hits, four walks and no strikeouts in 5 innings pitched and John O’Reilly struck a batter out in 2 scoreless innings pitched.

Nick Mears got the ball in the 8th inning with the game tied at 1, but failed to keep the game tied. Mears allowed 2 runs on two hits and a strikeout in the 8th inning. Yohan Ramirez would go on to pitch a scoreless 9th inning for Indy.

BRADENTON, FLORIDA – MARCH 16: Jared Triolo #85 of the Pittsburgh Pirates poses for a picture during the 2022 Photo Day at LECOM Park on March 16, 2022 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
BRADENTON, FLORIDA – MARCH 16: Jared Triolo #85 of the Pittsburgh Pirates poses for a picture during the 2022 Photo Day at LECOM Park on March 16, 2022 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

Big night from Jared Triolo not enough for the Curve

Double-A Altoona fell to the Bowie Baysox 7-5 on Wednesday night. This loss, which dropped the team to 58-57 on the season, came despite third baseman Jared Triolo nearly hitting for the cycle for the Curve.

Triolo was 3-for-4 with a RBI, his 5th triple of the season, 9th home run and two runs scored. One of the best defensive third basemen in all of minor league baseball, Triolo owns a .798 OPS for Altoona this season. With Ke’Bryan Hayes having third base locked down, it will be curious to see what the Pittsburgh Pirates do with Triolo moving forward.

Catcher Endy Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with a RBI in the loss while designated hitter Blake Sabol was 1-for-3 with a walk. Liover Peguero was 1-for-4 and outfielder Fabricio Macias was 1-for-4 with a three-run home run.

A big reason the Curve fell on Wednesday night was due to a poor start form Carmen Mlodzinski. The 2020 draft pick, who now owns a 5.17 ERA this season, allowed 4 runs on seven hits, three walks, a home run and three strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched. More and more it looks like Mlodzinski’s long-term role will be as a reliever.

Brad Case pitched 2.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on three walks and three strikeouts. However, due to Peguero’s 28th error of the season, only 1 of the 3 runs Case allowed were earned. Austin Roberts struck out four in 2 scoreless innings to wrap things up for the Curve.

(Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) /

Grasshoppers ride strong starting pitching performance to a victory

It has been a tough season for the Greensboro Grasshoppers. Wednesday night, however, the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates held on to defeat the Greenville Drive 5-3 despite things getting hairy in the 9th inning. With the win, the Grasshoppers are now 49-63 on the season.

Local product Justin Meis started for the Grasshoppers. Meis allowed 2 runs on a pair of solo home runs, four walks and struck out nine in 5 innings pitched. Meis now owns a 4.53 ERA to go with 100 strikeouts in 95.1 innings pitched between Low-A and High-A this season.

Domingo Gonzalez pitched 2 innings out of the Grasshopper bullpen, allowing a run on three hits, a walk and four strikeouts. Eddy Yean allowed a hit and struck a batter out in a scoreless 8th inning. After Yean walked the first two batters of the 9th he was lifted for Cam Junker who struck out the first batter he faced before flipping a double play ball to end the game.

Catcher Abrahan Gutierrez had arguably the biggest hit of the night for the Grasshoppers. Going 1-for-4, Gutierrez hit a three-run home run in the first inning. Gutierrez’s 12th home run of the season raised his OPS to .776 and gave the Grasshoppers an early lead.

If Gutierrez did not have the biggest hit of the night then Sammy Siani did. After Jase Bowen signed with two outs in the 7th inning and stole second base, Siani his his second double of the game to score Bowen and give the Grasshoppers a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.

In his first game since July 22nd, Siani was 2-for-4 with his 6th and 7th doubles of the season. Designated hitter Jacob Gonzalez was 1-for-3 with his 13th High-A double, a run scored, a walk and a RBI.

Jul 29, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington (left) presents a jersey to Termarr Johnson the Pirates first round draft pick and fourth overall player drafted in the 2022 MLB Draft at an introductory press conference before the Pirates host the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 29, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington (left) presents a jersey to Termarr Johnson the Pirates first round draft pick and fourth overall player drafted in the 2022 MLB Draft at an introductory press conference before the Pirates host the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

2022 first-round pick Termarr Johnson makes his Low-A debut in a losing effort for the Marauders

With the fourth overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected infielder Termarr Johnson. Despite being a prep bat, Johnson was viewed as possibly the best pure hitter in the draft and a prospect that could climb through the Pirate farm system in a hurry.

Wednesday night the 18-year-old Johnson made his Low-A debut with the Bradenton Marauders. Playing second base and batting sixth, Johnson went 1-for-4 at the plate. This came in an 11-6 loss for the Marauders against the Dunedin Blue Jays, dropping Bradenton to 60-55 on the season.

Another 2022 draft pick, right fielder Tres Gonzalez, went 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI. Center fielder Sergio Campana was 1-for-4 with a two-run home run, giving him 6 home runs on the season. Shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng went 0-for-3, but drew a pair of walks and scored two runs. Designated hitter Juan Jerez also drove in a run.

Anthony Solometo started for the Marauders and continued to pitch well. The 19-year-old lefty allowed a run on one hit, two walks and six strikeouts in 4 innings pitched. Solometo now owns a 3.05 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched this season.

After Solometo, things went sideways for Marauder pitching. Sergio Umana allowed 5 runs on five hits and a walk in 2 innings pitched. After Cy Nielson pitched a scoreless 7th inning, Jack Hartman walked three batters and allowed a hit without recording an out, leading to him allowing 4 runs before Carlos Campos cleaned the inning up.

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Bradenton also completed their suspended game from Tuesday night. In this contest, the Marauders came out on top 5-1. Darvin Garcia pitched 2.1 innings for the Marauders allowing a run and Wilkin Ramos got the final two outs of the game.

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