Despite Termarr Johnson's 0 for 5 game Thursday, he has had himself a solid August.
In August Termarr Johnson's slash line is .338/.390/.459 which sums to a .849 OPS. That's not great, but it is his best month offensively this year by far.
For much of early August, he hit .400. The key thing to note in his stat line is his .300+ batting average. Termarr was drafted for his contact ability AND his plate discipline making scouts believe he was the best pure prep hitter in decades the year he was drafted in 2022.
To this point in his minor league career he has only shown his plate discipline while his bat-to-ball skills have suffered. Overall he has cut his K-rate some this season which is a good start, but finally in August he is hitting .300.
How could a prospect be compared to Vladimir Guerrero Sr's contact ability and not hit close to .300 in the minors? On this site we wrote about an expected Termarr Johnson breakout season which didn't happen. In August, he is hitting to not only our expectations, but the expectations of the Altoona broadcasting and fanbase as well. The Bucs have been trying to get contact-first hitters to maximize their power potential, but that doesn't work for everyone. Termarr's fast compact swing is a gift, so why ruin it.
I like watching Konnor Griffin and Termarr Johnson in the same lineup. Hopefully these high skill prospects can sharpen each other's skills and keep Termarr's strong August going into September and into the AA playoffs.