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@GMBCSuperfan He’s 21

Is This Pirates’ Former #1 Pick a Bust? I’m sorry to do this, guys and gals. But amidst the good feels of a strong start to the year, and an emphatic win last night against the Rays, I arrive this morning with a steaming pile of uncertainty. We need to talk about Termarr Johnson. I continue to hear Johnson’s name mentioned as one of the talents still moving through our system, as if he is imminently going to turn it on and make an argument for promotion. And yet, that just ain’t happening. Like, at all. Through 17 games and 68 plate appearances, he has a .148/.348/.185 stat line, good for a .509 OPS. He is still walking a ton with 14 on the year, but the K % is way up there as well. Baseball America had him listed as the Pirates’ 7th best prospect entering this season. But his struggles in the first taste of AAA (while 11th ranked teammate Esmerlyn Valdez shines) begs the question: Is it time to stop expecting Johnson to turn a corner? Bait and Switch When he was taken 4th overall in the 2022 draft, he was called the best pure hitter available. He was described as a Tony Gwynn-type: a high average spark plug with decent power who would slide into the #2 spot in the order. But what showed up in the Pirates system was a player with a completely different hitting profile. A highly-patient hitter, he racked up prodigious walk totals (101 across multiple levels in 2023) but also high strikeout totals (120 that same year). He also hit 18 home runs in 2023, suggesting a three outcome hitter profile when we thought we were getting a hit machine. His .246 career batting average in 1,600+ minor league seasons suggests this is no adjustment period: “he is who he is.” New Batting Stance Much of the talk this past offseason was about Johnson’s new approach at the plate. According to BA: “Johnson has exploitable holes on the outer third, where he struggles to do much damage, and the Pirates worked with him to slowly move his stance closer to the plate.” Those adjustments last August supposedly helped him hit .326 over his final 36 games. That served as the first indication that the hit tool might still be in there after all. It was reason for a healthy amount of optimism. Three Theories So what is happening with Johnson in 2026? There are a couple things we might point to in trying to explain his weak start. The first is that the league adjusted to those changes. Johnson moved closer to the plate to make sure he wasn’t giving up the outside of the plate, so now pitchers have made adjustments to jam him inside. The constant cat-and-mouse for hitters means needing to “adjust to the adjustments.” A second indicator is his .211 BABIP thus far this season. League-average BABIP typically sits around .290–.300, even in the minors, so a mark this low points to a mix of poor luck (hard contact finding gloves) and weak contact quality. Getting jammed consistently on pitches inside would lead to this sort of outcome. Finally, the classic excuse that Johnson is “pressing” certainly shows up if you watch any video on him. A pull-side power guy, he appears to over-swing at times, which feels like the last vestiges of former Pirates’ hitting coach Andy Haines’ damage zones philosophy. Sitting on his ideal pitch, Johnson is trying to lift his entire profile with one amazing swing. He’s Not Alone Outside of Valdez, it’s been really slow going for many of the Pirates’ prospects at AAA. The Early Shift prospect darlings Jhostynxon Garcia (.361 OPS), Rafael Flores (.566 OPS) and Endy Rodriguez (.611 OPS) have all gotten off to rough starts. There’s so much pressing in Indianapolis, they should start making orange juice. I named Johnson as one of the 2026 breakout performances to watch, so I might have some egg on my face to wash down with that OJ. Only time will tell, but we might want to prepare ourselves that Johnson won’t magically figure it out. As depressing as that is accept. So, ummm… Brandon Lowe extension, anyone?

@colin_dunlap Thats Man E to you!

Instead of wasting our tax dollars with nonsensical legislation against law enforcement, Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam should tell her boyfriend — after she’s the one served with the papers — to pay his almost $20,000 credit card bill he keeps ducking.

@ericjackson Except it’s 100% @NickSzabo4

The collaboration hypothesis: Todd + Finney together: 56.5% Todd alone: 17.0% Finney alone: 14.8% Adam Back: 5.8% Craig Wright: 3.0% Nick Szabo: 2.9% More than half the total probability. No other hypothesis comes close.

Satoshi wasn't one person. Yesterday we published our Satoshi analysis. Today we tested a hypothesis nobody has proposed: what if the two candidates at the top of our ranking created Bitcoin TOGETHER? The collaboration hypothesis is 3.3x more likely than either individual alone.

@Tonysmarkettips @ErikLambert1 Not kidding, what is your obsession with this? You should find a hobby

@ErikLambert1 Think it’s being going on for a while? Did you see the 2020 tweet from the fan talking about her and Vrabel?

Money

Hi you’ve reached Nathan with striker sports medicine

A few weeks ago, he said he was going to liberate the Iranian people from an evil regime. Now he has changed his plan to kill them all. The President of the United States in a nutshell...

Breaking: thousands march in the street to protest a democratically elected president while they all voted for a candidate not democratically elected

@Kgadi_yaMoloto Is this good urine?

@stoolpresidente Hahahahahahahahaha what a strange reaction

Ain’t no way this is real?

@TheDegenWeekly It’s so fucking good

Trying a cheesesteak from some place called Penn Station Subs. Never heard of it - I think it’s an Ohio thing? Looks good! Will be back with a review.

@bryan_johnson Vizsla

I'm thinking about getting two dogs. What breeds should I consider?

@KyleKulinski @SenTuberville Ur confusing Muslims with islamists again, or are you saying there’s no difference? Your words not mine.

@SenTuberville You support a pedophile rapist war criminal for president. Muslims should be proud that you dislike them.

To be clear, I didn’t “suggest” Islamists are the enemy. I said it plainly.

STRIKE. 💥🦅

@frankiemuniz No bc ur a race car driver

God I hate hearing actors talk. Do I sound like such a tool when I talk?

@FieldYates “Pivot”

The Ravens’ pivot from Maxx Crosby to Trey Hendrickson. The Crosby trade was for two firsts and he was due $112.93M in base value for the next 4 years. They now sign Trey Hendrickson for $112M over the next 4 years.

@Castellani2014 Can’t make contact

Once again I ask…how is O’Neil Cruz not a star in the Big Leagues?

@MartinShkreli @jy201506 Can’t win em all lol

@jy201506 this one's prob cooked

$IOVA @MartinShkreli “dear idiots, critics and haters: sometimes these things take time”

he delivered Baltimore lowest homicide record of the last 50 years....let the nigga enjoy a seafood boil, got damn