For the most part, baseball fans in the know are aware that Brice Turang is a good player.
But for Milwaukee Brewers fans, who get to watch the 26-year-old play every day during the regular season, it’s still easy to consider Turang as an underrated player on a national scale. It may be the fact that he plays for a small-market team, or hasn’t hit a ton of home runs in his career, but the things he does to consistently help win baseball games can fly under the radar.
Fortunately, perceptions of Turang will soon change. He’s played in the playoffs in each of his first three years in the big leagues, but Turang will now get a chance to play on an entirely new stage to showcase his impressive all-around game.
Turang to play for Team USA in World Baseball Classic
Tuesday was a big day for Team USA World Baseball Classic roster announcements, and Turang is deservedly joining in on the fun. The Brewers confirmed on social media that their second baseman will participate.
Philadelphia Phillies/free agent designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith were also named as participants, bringing the USA roster to a total of 12 players.
Turang is quietly building a highly impressive resume for himself. He was an All-Star and Platinum Glove winner at second base last year, but he actually set a new career-high in wins above replacement this year.
The month of August seemingly changed everything for Turang, as he won National League Player of the Month with 10 home runs and a 1.093 OPS. Before that outburst, Turang had only 19 home runs in over 2 1/2 major league seasons. He added two more in September and his first-ever playoff longball in the division series against the Chicago Cubs.
Turang also finished 14th in NL Most Valuable Player voting last month.
Brewers fans could have several more star players to watch play for other countries, but Turang was probably their only real candidate to make the U.S. roster, unless the Americans have to expand their search for relief pitchers.
