Termarr Johnson homers, highlights Pirates' Day 1 of Arizona Fall League

The Pirates' prospects selected for fall ball begun their training in Arizona, as the Arizona Fall League opened with its first game of the season on Tuesday. The Scottsdale Scorpions roster includes prospects from the Pirates, Tigers, Blue Jays, Giants, and Mets, and this particular group got off to a hot start this week.

In their first game of the season, the Scorpions took down the Salt River Rafters in nine innings with a final score of 9-8. Four of the nine prospects from Pittsburgh played in the opening game. Each of them made a significant impact on the win.

How did the Pirates prospects do in their first game in the Arizona Fall League?

The Pirates' third-ranked prospect, Termarr Johnson, was one of the top performers in Game 1. He finished with two hits, one being a leadoff home run to open up the contest, and added a walk in four at-bats.

That was an excellent opening performance from Johnson, but he was removed late in the game with an injury to his leg. He was unable to put weight on his leg, but it was later reported to be just a cramp, which is a big sigh of relief.

Along with Johnson, Sammy Siani, the Pirates' competitive balance pick in 2019, had two hits, recording a solo home run and a stolen base. Siani had his best professional season in 2024, so continuing to show off his development in Day 1 of the fall is promising to see.

The Pirates' 27th-ranked prospect, Khristian Curtis, tossed three perfect innings out of the bullpen in his fall debut. He struck out two batters and managed to get the win.

The other arm from the Pittsburgh organization to make an appearance was Eddy Yean, one of the pieces from the revived Josh Bell trade. Yean pitched the bottom of the ninth inning and earned the save. Although he got the job done, he allowed two hits, a walk, and an earned run in his inning of work.

Overall, this marked a very solid opener from the Pirates prospects. There are still five other young guys yet to debut, which is likely to happen in Game 2.