MILWAUKEE -- Brice Turang’s second consecutive “quantum leap” landed him the top honor from the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Turang earned the Brewers’ Most Valuable Player award in a vote of BBWAA card-holders who cover the team, who voted for a top three in five different categories at the end of the regular season. Results were based on a points system that awarded five points for a first place vote, three points for second and one point for third.
Here are the results, along with my first-place pick in each category.
Most Valuable Player
Winner: Turang
One can’t quibble with this pick, since Turang led the Brewers in both of the most-cited versions of wins above replacement -- 5.5 WAR from Baseball-Reference and 4.4 WAR from FanGraphs -- after taking a significant step forward offensively for the second straight season. This year’s jump was especially notable, since Turang went from a 61 weighted runs created plus as a rookie in 2023 (read here for an explanation of why wRC+ is such a useful measure of offensive production) to an 88 wRC+ last season while winning the National League Gold Glove Award at second base and the NL Platinum Glove Award as the league’s top overall defender to a 124 wRC+ in ‘25, when he hit .288/.359/.435 and blew away his career highs with 18 home runs and 81 RBIs.
Essentially, he went from being a great defender with a developing bat to the Brewers’ best overall performer.
My pick: Christian Yelich
There were the statistics: a .264/.343/.452 slash line with a team-leading 29 home runs for a club with power in modest supply, and a 121 wRC+ that ranked just behind Turang and Isaac Collins (122) among the team’s regulars.
Then there was the old debate about what constitutes “valuable” in voting for these awards. Statistically, Turang had the edge. But I had Yelich atop my ballot because I believe pretty strongly that he was the Brewers’ most valuable player all year, especially in April and May when the season could have easily forked in a much different direction.
Most Valuable Pitcher
Winner: Freddy Peralta
The easiest selection on the ballot was also the only unanimous one. Peralta was once again the steady hand on a pitching staff with so many moving parts around him, leading the team in starts (33), innings (176 2/3), strikeouts (204) and WAR (5.5 bWAR, 3.6 fWAR). His 17 wins led the National League and were the most for a Brewers pitcher since Zach Davies had 17 in 2017. Peralta was the fifth pitcher in Brewers history to pitch at least 175 innings with an ERA below 3.00 and more than 200 strikeouts, joining Corbin Burnes (2022), Brandon Woodruff (2021), Ben Sheets (2004) and Teddy Higuera (1986). And it meant all the more to the Brewers considering that 17 different pitchers made starts for Milwaukee and Quinn Priester (157 1/3) was the only other pitcher on the team who topped 150 innings (Jose Quintana was next at 131 2/3 innings).
My pick: Peralta
Top Newcomer
Winner: Priester
Plucked from Boston’s Triple-A team in April, when the Brewers were absolutely desperate for starting pitching, Priester went 13-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 29 games (24 starts) during the regular season and was an absolute savior in terms of stabilizing the pitching. His best stretch was a record-setter from May 30-Sept. 18, when the team won 19 consecutive games in which Priester pitched, including 16 starts. He was 12-0 with a 2.84 ERA during that streak, breaking the club mark for consecutive winning decisions that had been shared by Cal Eldred and Chris Bosio, who each had 10-0 runs in 1992. Priester won’t reach arbitration until the 2027-28 offseason at the earliest.
My pick: Andrew Vaughn
Priester and Vaughn were each worth 1.9 WAR, per the Fangraphs calculation, and each made a massive impact. I voted Vaughn first and Priester second because of the way Vaughn’s arrival in July catapulted the Brewers to the next level, coming during an 11-game winning streak that was to be eclipsed by a 14-game winning streak in August. From his arrival until Aug. 15 -- essentially the stretch in which the Brewers cemented their spot as a playoff team -- Vaughn hit .343/.403/.648 with nine homers in 29 games.
Unsung Hero
Winner: Aaron Ashby
Before he seemingly pitched every game in the postseason for the Brewers, Ashby was a reliable bullpen contributor while appearing in a career-high 43 games (one start) with a 2.16 ERA and three saves in the regular season. He held opponents to a .227 average and posted a 1.17 WHIP while stranding 17 of 22 inherited runners.
My pick: Abner Uribe
This is another category in which one’s definition of the word impacts the vote. Ashby was truly unsung during the regular season, so I have no problem with him winning the honor. But I went with Uribe narrowly over third baseman Caleb Durbin after the righty delivered a 1.67 ERA in 75 appearances mostly as the setup man to All-Star closer Trevor Megill. When Megill went down with a right flexor strain over the final month of the regular season, Uribe stepped in as closer and the team didn’t miss a beat. He’s almost certainly the closer of the future, so he won’t be unsung for long.
Good Guy Award
Winner: Yelich
The Brewers and the BBWAA have been handing out this award since Mike Hegan won the first in 1976, and it’s always the one that stirs the most internal debate. It goes “to the player who has the most outgoing, friendly presence in the clubhouse and interacts well with the media on a daily basis in a cooperative and pleasant manner.” Yelich -- who was always cooperative, especially on nights when he was asked to speak on behalf of the young team he was leading -- also won this honor in 2023.
My pick: Yelich
Woodruff, Peralta, Durbin and Sal Frelick all received first-place votes, but Yelich was my pick.