Brice Turang has been historically bad offensively to the tune of a 64 OPS+. However, his defensive work has been so good, he is a positive WAR player. When you delve into the defensive metrics, Turang has been the best defensive second basemen in baseball.
Gold Glove for rookie Brice Turang?
Turang is hitting .221 with a meager .289 on-base percentage with an OPS under .600. Despite the paltry numbers offensively, the Milwaukee Brewers’ second baseman has been a highlight reel defensively.
Turang UZR/150 is 5.1. If that seems good, it’s actually outstanding. The Brewers’ second basemen actually ranks fourth among middle infielders in MLB and tops among second basemen.
It will be very interesting to see how the vote goes. There are some other very good second baseman in the National League. Will they give a rookie the love and respect deserved? Turang’s numbers are outstanding defensively.
According to Fangraphs, Turang has 11 Defensive Runs Saved this season, which ranks fourth among second basemen, however he has played nearly 300 fewer innings than them. Nico Horner is ahead of Turang with 13 DRS, however, he’s played 1,108 innings, while Turang has played just 871.
While the bat has been pretty quiet for Turang, his highlight reel defensively speaks quite loudly. It’s too bad the days of Web Gems on Baseball Tonight are a thing of the past.
Just a few years ago second base was where you could “hide” a defender with shifts. The Brewers went with Mike Moustakas at second base at times, which isn’t a knock on Moose but he wasn’t a typical second baseman. With the regulated shifts, second base has once again become an important defensive position where range is key again. Turang has shown off his range and his shortstop skills – he played SS basically all the way through the minors. The athletic Turang has made a number of dazzling plays this year and showed off the range and better than average arm for a second baseman.
