As if the Milwaukee Brewers’ season didn’t have enough magic already, the lineup got one of the most unexpected boosts of any team in any month this season via Brice Turang’s power explosion. Reminiscent of one of the league’s other most unanticipated developments – Andrew Vaughn’s Barry Bonds arc – Turang’s August blastoff won him NL Player of the Month, a much-merited acknowledgement of his transformation.
Brice Turang last month: 10 HR, 23 RBI, .343/.398/.694
Turang also posted a 200 wRC+, or weighted runs created plus, a holistic measure of offensive production measured against an average of 100.
Is it fair to use the above terminology – transformation – or a bit over-ambitious? While no one expects him to continue at an Aaron Judge-ian level, certainly it does not seem like a fluke. Pundits might as well stop critiquing the Brewers’ lineup for the so-called fatal flaw that was supposed to doom their postseason: lack of power? Not in this batting order.
Brewers get monster month from Turang, but he’s not the only one mashing
Just in case anyone thought August was, in fact, fraudulent, Turang led off September with a homerun against the Phillies, part of a 2-3 day along with a pair of walks. The formerly light-hitting second baseman 17 HR and 69 RBIs on the season, with a .798 OPS. Augmented by Platinum Glove defense, his 5.2 WAR is tied for fifth in the NL.
Incidentally, his 10 August bombs match Willy Adames’s mark from this month last year. Too bad they let Adames walk, though, right?
Turang isn’t the only Brewers bat heating up of late. Catcher William Contreras has 11 homers and 26 RBIs in his last 131 at-bats. During that time, he is hitting .291/.376/.595. He looks a lot more like the guy he had been the past three seasons, before a hand injury sapped his pop during the first half of 2025.
Christian Yelich is himself. Jackson Chourio is back. Even with his recent slump, Vaughn remains a threat and a production machine: 40 RBIs in 46 Brewers games. Caleb Durbin is hitting homeruns – five in the last three weeks. Isaac Collins provides supplementary power – 30 extra base hits in 326 at-bats – and has a knack for plating runs (51 RBIs). Up and down the lineup, it’s hard to find chinks, and lately that also covers the power department.
Formidable Brewers batting order? Best believe it
Turang, Contreras, Yelich, Chourio, Vaughn. That’s a solid middle of the order, plus guys like Durbin, Collins, and Sal Frelick. Give Andruw Monasterio his flowers after he hit three homeruns and seven doubles in 59 August at-bats. Rhys Hoskins is ready to return, but the team is choosing to keep him on rehab for now. Assuming he does come back at some point, his bat will also factor in off the bench.
Over the last 30 days, the Brewers rank sixth in long balls (39), second in doubles (55), and fourth in slugging (.462). Sure, Turang and Contreras have been hot, but Vaughn has cooled. Chourio has been back for one game. If Turang is for real and Contreras’s hand is healed – both of which look likely – those numbers don’t misconstrue much.
In fact, the Brewers have struggled to scratch across runs during their recent 6-9 cold streak. It all amounts to an .808 OPS during that 30-day sample that falls in line with how the offense has performed since the first two months of the season. Not a power-hitting team? Next.
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