MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers’ No. 2 prospect is just one step away from the big leagues.
Brice Turang, 21, Milwaukee’s first-round Draft pick in 2018 and ranked second on MLB Pipeline’s list of the club’s top prospects was elevated to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday after slashing .264/.329/.385 in 73 games at Double-A Biloxi.
“I think Brice has done a great job this year,” Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “He's proven that he can stay at shortstop. He's proven that he can continue to progress offensively at every level. He's been remarkably consistent. His contact skills have stayed really solid and he's beginning to generate a little more power. He's still controlling the zone the way he always has.
“So, this is the right progression for him. We try not to create specific timelines for players. If he's 'ahead of schedule,' it indicates that you actually have a schedule, and we really don't. We try to let player performance dictate how fast they move up. He's done a great job, he deserves the promotion, and we look forward to watching him in Triple-A.”
Turang was the 21st overall pick in the 2018 Draft out of Santiago High School in Corona, Calif., outside of Los Angeles. He’s consistently been “young for his league” in the Brewers’ Minor League system, most notably at Carolina in 2019 when that was Milwaukee’s Class A Advanced affiliate, and this year in Biloxi, where according to Baseball-Reference he was more than three and a half years younger than the average position player.
“He's a 21-year-old in Double-A and that says something right there. He's succeeding at Double-A,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Brice is going to be a good big league baseball player. He's done everything he's done at a young age. He's always been young for his league. That matters.”
Counsell has seen Turang play for years, first on loan from Minor League camp in Major League Spring Training games, and in ’21 as a bona fide member of big league camp. Turang hit his first Cactus League home run this spring.
At Biloxi, Turang hit 14 doubles, three triples and five home runs in 320 plate appearances while stealing 11 bases.
“He's really instinctual,” Counsell said. “When we had him in Spring Training, he carries himself kind of older than his years, is the best way to say it. On the baseball field he always belonged. We had him in Major League Spring Training games as a 19-year-old because of that. He just belonged on the field. As he kind of physically matures, that first trait combined with his physical maturity, he's going to be a really good baseball player.”
At Biloxi, Turang played alongside top Brewers prospect Garrett Mitchell following Mitchell’s promotion from High-A Wisconsin. At Nashville, Turang will play with No. 5 Brewers prospect Mario Feliciano, who returned Sunday from a right shoulder injury.