The 2023 Pittsburgh Pirates have made marked improvement this season. Currently sitting at (74-82), but out of the National League playoff picture, the team’s record with six games less in the season is already 12 more games better than they finished the 2022 season (62-100).

And, if you’re looking for a club not named the Baltimore Orioles or the Washington Nationals with a brighter future, look no further than the banks of where “Three Rivers Stadium” use to sit.

With pitcher Paul Skenes the 2023 No.1 overall pick, expected to get the call up to the majors next season, things are looking up.

While, Skenes looks the part standing 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, there’s another prospect that’s been tearing it up in the minors, in fact he was so good this season that he was just named the club’s Minor League Player of the Year.

That’s right second baseman. Termarr Johnson just won the award. In the 2023 season between stops at Low-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro, Johnson hit 18 total home runs in 349 at-bats.

Showing great plate discipline Johnson drew 101 walks, but at times he was too patient either going down swinging or getting caught looking a total of 120 times.

For the season he finished with a .244/ .422/ .438 slashline and an .860 OPS. Johnson’s 2023 MiLB season proves he’s a big time hitter, who’s only gonna get better.

With the minor league season now complete, and most players taking a little time off, the Atlanta native was spotted at the East Cobb Baseball facility getting some work in last week.

In an interview with Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Johnson talked about his love for the game and how he felt his 2023 season went.

“I like to play baseball every day of the week. This is my getaway. This is what I do. This is my life,” Johnson told the Post Gazette. “I want to play baseball as long as they let me.”

“As far as my play goes, it was alright,” Johnson said. “But definitely need to get way better. Ten times more a player than I was this year.”

Big on family values, Johnson says his patience at the plate is a credit to his family values, and what was bestowed upon him at a very young age.

While it may sound a bit cliché, Johnson truly does live by the saying that “patience is a virtue,” and even as his average went up and down a lot during the season, he stayed the course and never changed his approach.

“I never like to rush anything,” Johnson said. “I don’t like to rush at-bats. I don’t like to rush development. I don’t like to rush anything that gets me better every day.”

“The pitcher has to come to me. I think that’s where my patience comes from, and I’ve just got to continue to do that.”

While currently slated to join the Pirates in 2025, Johnson who’s likely to begin the 2024 season with the Club’s Double-A affiliate, is hoping to be in the majors in 2024.

“I want to be prepared for Pittsburgh next year, help those guys win,” Johnson said. “We need some winning baseball up there, and I’m ready to do it.”

I wouldn’t bet against Johnson arriving in the majors sometime during the 2024 MLB season.