Brewers prospect Turang walks it off then moves on up
The Milwaukee Brewers have positioned themselves as a World Series contender, but the team still has a number of promising prospects.
Every Thursday for the rest of the season, FOX Sports Wisconsin will take a closer look at some specific young players in Milwaukee's farm system -- as well as noting others who might be stepping up -- measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress.
This is the 10th edition of the 2019 Young Brewers Tracker.
Mauricio Dubon, 2B/SS (Age 24/Triple-A)
Last week: 3 games, 14 AB, 4 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 4 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 0 BB, 1 K, .286 BA
Season: 83 games, 342 AB, .307 BA, .343 OBP, .491 SLG, .835 OPS, 19 2B, 1 3B, 14 HR, 50 R, 42 RBI, 9 SB, 15 BB, 50 K.
Notable: Dubon had hit hitting streak stopped at 17 games, and then proceeded to hit in eight straight before being called up to Milwaukee (if he remains there, we’ll take him out of the Tracker). Dubon continued his power tear as well, having an extra-base hit in five straight games and seven of his last eight.
Trent Grisham, OF (age 22/Triple-A)
Last week: 4 games, 11 AB, 3 H, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB, 0 K, .273 BA
Season (Triple-A): 16 games, 59 AB, .271 BA, .358 OBP, .559 SLG, .918 OPS, 2 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 11 R, 11 RBI, 2 SB, 8 BB, 10 K.
Season (Double-A): 63 games, 236 AB, .254 BA, .371 OBP, .504 SLG, .875 OPS, 14 2B, 3 3B, 13 HR, 34 R, 41 RBI, 6 SB, 44 BB, 50 K.
Notable: With Hiura up in the bigs, perhaps for good, we’ve added another former first-round pick in Grisham. It’s taken a while for the outfielder to find his stroke in the minors, but he’s putting it altogether this year, earning a promotion to San Antonio on June 20. He’s hit a combined 18 home runs this season after accounting for 19 over his first four years.
Tristan Lutz, OF (age 20/High-A)
Last week: 7 games, 25 AB, 9 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 R, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 4 BB, 5 K, .360 BA
Season: 81 games, 303 AB, .251 BA, .337 OBP, .419 SLG, .756 OPS, 18 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 48 R, 42 RBI, 2 SB, 36 BB, 99 K.
Notable: Lutz has turned it up a notch so far in July. In 10 games he’s hitting .297/.372/.514 and is riding a six-game hitting streak, notching two hits in three of those contests. During his streak, Lutz has raised his average from .238 to .251 and slugging percentage from .395 to .419.
Trey Supak, SP (age 23/Double-A)
Last week: 1 game (1 start), 1-0, 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K
Season: 18 games (18 starts), 9-4, 2.29 ERA, 110 IP, 78 H, 6 HR, 20 BB, 76 K, .198 OBA, 0.89 WHIP.
Notable: Supak had 87+ pitches in each of his last three starts (he had 68 and 81 in the previous two before that). His seven strikeouts in his last start, July 8 at Mississippi, were the third most he’s had this year. Supak allowed one run or less for the 11th time in 18 starts. Supak also went 1-for-3 at the plate in that game and is now 6-for-22 (.273) on the season.
Brice Turang, SS (age 19/High-A)
Last week (High-A): 2 games, 8 AB, 1 H, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB, 3 BB, 0 K, .125 BA
Last week (Low-A): 4 games, 16 AB, 4 H, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 1 BB, 2 K, .250 BA
Season (Low-A): 82 games, 303 AB, .287 BA, .384 OBP, .376 SLG, .760 OPS, 13 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 57 R, 31 RBI, 21 SB, 49 BB, 54 K.
Notable: Last year’s top pick earned a promotion to High-A Carolina, where he had only one hit in his first two games but did walk three times and didn’t strikeout. As an aside, I happened to see what was Turang’s last game at Low-A Wisconsin and his final at-bat there was incredible. It lasted about 11 pitches, with Turang fouling off a number before finally timing one out and delivering a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning. His plate discipline and bat contact is something for a 19-year-old.
Other notes: San Antonio 3B Travis Shaw – remember him? – was 3-for-8 last week with two homers. … Biloxi RHP Alex Bettinger (10th round, 2017) tossed seven scoreless innings on July 6, allowing three hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts. It marked the third time this season Bettinger has reached double-digit Ks in a game. He has 108 whiffs in 95 1/3 innings with a 3.49 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. … Shuckers OF Joantgel Segovia has struggled since his promotion to Double-A, but last week he was 7-for-20 with a pair of doubles. … It was a good week for Carolina’s catching duo. Mario Feliciano (comp. rd. B, 2017) went 8-for-26 (.308) with three doubles, a triple and eight RBI and Payton Henry (6th round, 2016) was 4-for-13 (.308) with a homer and six RBI. … Mudcats SS Devin Hairston had 10 hits in 17 at-bats with four extra-base hits, for a slash line of .588/.611/1.000, with seven runs and five RBI. … Rocky Mountain OF Michael Wilson (16th round, 2019) was 7-for-24 with two doubles and two homers. … OF Corey Ray, on a rehab assignment with the Arizona Brewers Gold team, is 8-for-15 with three doubles and a homer in five games.
Statistics courtesy milb.com and baseball-reference.com
Dave Heller is the author of Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow (a Larry Ritter Book Award nominee), Facing Ted Williams - Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns
