No matter the stage, Johnson's keeping his feet on the ground

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Termarr Johnson predicted a win in Saturday's MLB All-Star Futures Game and the Futures Skills Showcase. He was right on the former and lost in the final round in the latter, but that competitive edge shone throughout the day at Globe Life Field.

"It was fun. I learned a lot about myself," Johnson said after the Skills Showcase. "Next time, we’re going to hit some more home runs instead of peppering it."

Johnson put up a zero in the final round of the showcase, which was the closest thing the Futures Skills Showcase had to a Home Run Derby. But, in the actual Futures Game, Johnson went 1 for 2 with a lead-off bloop single that culminated in a three-run fourth inning for the National League, and later scored what would be the deciding run in a 6-1 victory.

Johnson, the Pirates' fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft, came to Texas with one goal in mind, which was to win. It's easy to get lost in the glitz and glamor of an event like this, especially for a 20-year-old kid. But, in speaking with Johnson alone for several minutes prior to the game, everything came back to the heart of the game: Just play, have fun and win.

"I’ve done this for a pretty good amount of growing up, so it's just treating it like another special event," Johnson told me. "It’s not really too much anything else going on but just trying to go out there play baseball. At the end of the day, this is playing baseball on the big stage just trying to go out there and play well."

The 2024 season hasn't been the easiest for Johnson. At Class A Greensboro, Johnson is slashing .244/.394/.394 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs in 79 games. The underwhelming numbers are due to a very slow start in which Johnson was struggling to stay above the Mendoza line. That's not exactly heartwarming for a player that some might have expected to make his way to Class AA Altoona sometime this year.

But, Johnson's put the rough start behind him. Over his past 30 games, Johnson is slashing .302/.415/.474 with five home runs and 18 RBIs. That looks a lot more like the player that most expected in his second season at Greensboro.

A lot of the battle for prospects is overcoming the mental challenges of the game. There's so much pressure to produce numbers so players can get to the big leagues as quickly as possible. One thing Johnson told me that he's learned about himself since becoming a pro is learning to let go of the internal pressure and not force anything.

"Just going and playing the game," Johnson said. "You're not necessarily in control of, you know, if the game opens up, if you get certain types of hits, all you can do is just have a good process. Make sure that you are prepared every day to do whatever you can to do your best to help the team win. Just keeping that at the forefront of my mind, helping the team win and playing how I’m supposed to play."

That's a lot easier said than done. But, even in the marquee event for prospects, Johnson showed the same, calm demeanor he's tried to develop this season.

"As soon as the game started, it just felt like another game," he said.

For an event that promotes the game's future, Johnson is already learning the necessary virtue of keeping one's feet on the ground and not trying to get to the future before they're ready. Yeah, he's seeing what's going on in Pittsburgh. Yeah, he kept track of Bryan Reynolds' 25-game hitting streak. Yeah, he's watching Paul Skenes light the baseball world on fire. And, yeah, there's a small part of Johnson that sees himself becoming part of a core that can finally bring competitive baseball back to the North Shore.

"Oh, yeah. Every day since ever since I got drafted, I’ve envisioned that," Johnson told me. 

But, not too fast. He's still got some growing up to do. And that's okay. For now, it's just time to enjoy a win in the event that mattered more on Saturday. He's gonna stick to the process and let the future take care of itself.

"It’s gonna happen in its divine timing," Johnson said of his future. "I’m not trying to control too much or even think about it. Just making sure that I do my part, and then when my time comes, I’m ready to do it."