A year ago, Brice Turanga had one of the worst offensive seasons in MLB history. I’m not exaggerating. He was literally that bad.
Despite this, Turang was still a positive WAR player. Despite the limitations in wood handling, Turang was sensational in leather handling.
Brewers’ Turang Takes Quantum Leap Offensively
In 2024, Turang shined in both. The Brewers second baseman has been impressive defensively, looking like he could be the star of the night. But this season, Turang has made a stunning turnaround with the bat.
During spring training, Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Turang was going to take a “quantum leap.” Murphy may have a crystal ball in his office, because Turang has made a huge leap in production at the plate.
In 2023, Turang hit .218/.285/.300 and had a paltry 60 OPS+. In nearly 450 plate appearances, Turang had just 18 extra-base hits, a .585 OPS, six homeruns, and 34 RBI on the season.
This season, Dear He’s already hit as many home runs (6), scored more runs (43) and stolen more extra bases (24) than he did all of last year after his electrifying grand slam on June 30 in a 7-1 victory over the Cubs. Turang was slugging over .290 and had a 117 OPS+ before his July slump so far.
While Turang was likely one of the biggest All-Star omissions in 2024, the agile second baseman likely needed a break. In only his second year, the daily grind of a 162-game season could be taking its toll on Turang. In July, Turang is just 12-for-68 on the bat, hitting .176/.243/.200 with an OPS below .450. He hasn’t had an extra-base hit since July 4.
Turang is still hitting .270/.333/.376 and seems to be coming out of a slump. Turang had his only RBI on a game-winning single in the eighth inning of a 1-0 win over the Cubs on Tuesday, and on Wednesday he came off the bench to get an RBI single.
Brice Turang hits @Brewery FOURTH Grand Slam on this home court! photo:twitter.com/MNgkWYV8FO
— MLB (@MLB) June 30, 2024
The leather work done by Brewers 2B Turang is worthy of a Golden Glove
Aside from the quantum leap on the plate, Turang’s glove remains elite. Turang is elite defender, MLB leader in defensive runs saved plus/minus from 14 and the second in saved defensive runs from 13.
Brice Turang ranks 5th in the MLB in Wins Above Replacement, and defense plays a massive part in that.
9 Runs Saved ranks 3rd among second basemen – and is one of the best in MLB in terms of transitions to right base photo:twitter.com/7dApwevBb2
— SIS_Baseball (@sis_baseball) June 28, 2024
Yet there is little talk about Turang in the league and national media circles. He was not a finalist in the All-Star voting. If you asked the experts who were the best second basemen in MLB, would Turang be traded? He should be.
Toolsy Turang is one of the most underrated talents
While I think many Brewer fans were disappointed that Turang didn’t get an All-Star nod, many are hoping the break will toasty up Turang’s bat. Turang was excellent with the bat until July after a terrible year in the outfield last season. With his range and Gold Glove-level defense, Turang is one of the most valuable defenders in all of baseball.
Now that his offense is no longer a drawback when paired with his glove, Turang is one of the most underrated players in the MLB due to his speed (31 stolen bases), defense and offensive tool combination. Murphy’s phrase about a quantum leap now seems prophetic.
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