Pittsburgh Pirates: Good Injury Update on the Termarr Johnson

The Pittsburgh Pirates invited their first-round selection from the 2022 MLB Draft to Spring Training this year. Unfortunately, he already has a minor injury.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have added a promising young player to their farm system with the selection of shortstop Termarr Johnson in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft. Johnson, who was picked 13th overall, is a 6'2" athlete with exceptional speed and a strong arm.

Offensively, Johnson has shown promise as well, although there are some questions about his power potential. He has a quick swing and a good eye at the plate, and he has shown the ability to hit for average at every level he's played so far. However, he hasn't yet shown much home run power, which could limit his upside as a hitter.

He got off to a slow start with the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization batting just .222 on the year. In 2022, he played in 23 total games. For 9 of those games he was in the Florida Complex League (lowest level), he would be promoted to Bradenton for their final 14 games. However, things improved with Bradenton, which makes sense as he adjusted to pro-ball on and off the field. With Bradenton, he hit .275 with an OPS approaching .850.

Yesterday it was reported that Termarr Johnson had to leave the team's Spring Training workout early. Apparently, he was filling some tightness in his hamstring. Here is an update on Johnson's hamstring from Alex Stumpf at DK Pittsburgh Sports Now:

Exhale is right. Last year, Nick Gonzales, the Pittsburgh Pirates first round selection in 2020, missed significant time due to a hamstring injury. Hamstrings can be tricky obviously. Players who strain or tear their hamstrings may be forced to sit out games or even miss significant portions of the season, so proper care and training of these muscles is important for any athlete, including those on the Pirates team.

So it would not be suprising to see the Pittsburgh Pirates really ease Johnson back in to action. This is his first year in the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization. He is considered to be a Top 25 prospect in all of Baseball by FanGraphs. It is more important for him to be ready for the start of the regular season than pushing himself in Spring Training at just 18 years of age.