Roansy Contreras flashes and Termarr Johnson homers twice Pittsburgh Pirates fall to Toronto Blue Jays 8-4

The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped their third-straight game to open their 2024 spring training schedule on Monday afternoon to the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Florida by the final score of 8-4. The team is still winless in the early going of Grape Fruit League action. They now have an overall record of 0-3.

In the loss, Blue Jays designated hitter Brian Servern provided nearly all of Toronto's offense on Monday with five RBI across a pair of hits which included a three-run home run in the sixth inning. The Jays also had some prominent hitters in their lineup including Vladamir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Justin Turner.

For the Pirates, 19-year-old prospect Termarr Johnson provided a majority of the offense with three RBI across a pair of home runs. Non-roster invite, third baseman Sergio Alcantara also had an RBI in the game in the eighth inning. Alcantara looks to catch on as a potential utility player. Still, other players got some at-bats including catcher Henry Davis and infielder Jared Triolo. Both are in situations where they cannot afford to have below-average Springs. While stats in Spring Training "do not matter" the Bucs have positioned themselves with plenty of alternative options.

Despite the loss to the team from up North, there were a handful of positive notes to come out of Monday's matchup. This includes some of the pitchers who threw in the game. In terms of stuff, Roansy looks to be in a better spot than when fans saw him last. There were a handful of pitching prospects who appeared with Braxton Ashcraft being the most notable. The team also marched out a couple of non-roster invitees as well.

CONTRERAS FLASHES DESPITE STAT LINE

Roansy Contreras's final line wasn't anything special. Two innings pitched, four hits, two earned runs, and one walk. That being said, there were promising takeaways from his time on the mound.

For starters, Contreras was mostly around the plate on Monday with 21 of his 35 pitches as strikes with another handful of pitches just missing the plate including several sliders. This early in spring training, pitchers are not necessarily looking to strike every batter out or even necessarily trying to avoid contact but instead, are focusing on getting their control down and focusing more so on the process than the end result.

Another encouraging takeaway for Contreras is that his velocity is up compared to last year. His fastball topped out at 96.2 mph while his average for the game across 17 fastballs was 95.2, almost a full mile per hour higher than it was last year at 94.3.

His slider and curve ball also saw increased velocity at 85.3 mph and 79.6 mph respectively.

JOHNSON HOMERS TWICE

There is no doubt what the highlight of Monday afternoon's clash was. It was absolutely, the pair of home runs off the bat of Pirates' 19-year-old second base prospect Termarr Johnson.

Johnson's first home run of the day came in the seventh inning when the
19-year-old second baseman turned on a Yimi Garcia high 95 mph fastball and mashed it 392 feet to right field with an exit velocity of 103.1 mph. The home run would've been a home in 26 of 30 Major League ballparks.

The second home run for Johnson came in the ninth inning as Johnson launched his second 402 feet to right-center field off an 87.5 mph cutter out of the hands of left-handed reliever Genesis Cabrera. His second homer of the day left the bat quicker than the first, this time with an exit velocity of 104.1 mph.

While Johnson will undoubtedly spend the entire 2024 season in the minor leagues, Monday afternoon's pair of home runs should keep Pirates fans excited about Johnson's potential long term.