Johnson s Promising Career Taking Off With Marauders

Temarr Johnson has a bright baseball future with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Bradenton is a big part of it. At 18, the Pirates top prospect is committed to the City of Bradenton and Manatee County. A year after being Pittsburgh s first-round draft pick, and the fourth overall selection in last June s amateur draft, the second baseman is settling down away from LECOM Park.

This past spring training, Johnson was one of 27 non-roster players invited to camp. With just 23 games of experience from 2022, split between playing for the Pirates Florida Complex club and just over one dozen games with the Marauders, Johnson s experience with the big club remains a motivator for him this season.

""I m so grateful for meeting what I hope are my future teammates in Pittsburgh, said Johnson during a recent Marauders homestand. ""There was such a positive vibe in the clubhouse. Everyone was very cool to me. Ke Bryan [Pirates third baseman Ke Bryan Hayes] gave me a lot of pointers.

At such an early age in his career, Johnson already understands the process of how to reach Pittsburgh from Bradenton.

There are three levels higher than the Marauders in the minor league chain of the Pirates. Where Johnson packs his bags for next is up to how his games are going here and now in the Florida State League. Next up, Johnson, who is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the top second baseman in minor league baseball, could be in the South Atlantic League with the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

Bradenton is a Low-A club, and Greensboro is a step higher at High-A. Depending on how Johnson s season with the bat and defensively are going will ultimately decide where and when his next ticket is punched for. He could leapfrog up to Double-A Altoona, or if things are going well, by season s end get a sniff with Triple-A Indianapolis.

How and when Johnson s baseball journey is molded, one thing is for sure Bradenton is central to his overall development.

Like Pirates 2021 first-overall draft selection Henry Davis, Johnson has decided to live year-round in Bradenton. When fall arrives, and regular baseball schedules close for the winter, Johnson can take full advantage of the training facilities at Pirate City.

As a teenager away from his family in the Atlanta area, Johnson is the recipient of much support from those who care about him. Forget the baseball side of his life, one that headlines with a reported signing bonus north of $7 million, family members are all in on making sure Johnson remains grounded.

""I come from a big family. I usually see someone (Johnson has three older brothers) every other week.""

Fine upbringing is a major factor as to why Johnson by all accounts is a future MLB all-star infielder. Sports aside, education has always had importance in the Johnson household. According to the Marauders second baseman, while in college at Georgia Tech, his mom Kim Johnson was her class valedictorian.

""My mom always made sure my grades were right, explains Johnson, the 2022 Atlanta Public School s Player-of-the-Year.

The budding baseball player split his time with being interested in serving others. While at Mays High School, Johnson was president of the student government association and graduated third in his class.

But, baseball has always been what Johnson wanted to fill his time with. If not out on a field chasing fly balls or taking infield grounders, Johnson shares happy memories of playing with a ball in his family s home.

If not playing the game, Johnson, like millions of other kids hooked on baseball, was attending Atlanta Braves games at Turner Field.

""My early love of baseball is rooting for the Braves, taking in games in the 755 Legacy Club section. Matt Kemp was my favorite player, Johnson recalls of the former multiple Gold Glove winner.

Now, it s Johnson s time to be baseball fans hero, in Bradenton and beyond. He experienced his first hurricane in Southwest Florida last September and is grateful for doing so unscathed.

Johnson has worked hard for as far back as he remembers to stay on the right path to land him in the position that he enjoys today. He gets being under the lenses of many, and what it takes to be a role model. For a teen, Johnson is amazingly mature far beyond his years.

Ballplayer second, when meeting Johnson, and sitting down with him for an extended time, it s impossible not to become a fan of his. Direct eye contact always, repeating my name several times to enhance a personal connection, and offering direct answers with immediate responses, Johnson, is an all-star person.

Perhaps at the Pirates 2024 spring training season, or later down the road, Pittsburgh s bench coach Don Kelly and Johnson will hook up formally. Along with being Pirates skipper Derek Shelton s eyes and ears from the dugout, Kelly oversees the club s defensive work of its infielders. This association will be another career watermark of Johnson making it to the big leagues.

The thought of a Pirates lineup that includes Hayes at the hot corner in third base, Oneil Cruz as the patrolling shortstop, and Termarr Johnson assigned as the second baseman, this scenario could bring smiles to Pirates' fans for years to come. For many, just like Johnson, the road to MLB properly begins in Bradenton.