Brice Turang may have been an all-star snub, but he's found his swing again

PHOENIX – Of the 20 players in Major League Baseball worth at least 3 Wins Above Replacement, all but two are headed to the All-Star Game. 

They’re both National League second basemen. 

Along with St. Louis Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt, Brice Turang has as good a case as anyone in the league for being snubbed for the All-Star Game next week in Philadelphia after rosters were announced July 4. 

Entering play July 5, Turang was batting .269 with a .829 OPS and 3.2 WAR, which tied him for 12th among all position players in baseball. He led MLB second basemen in runs, wRC+, was second at his position across the entire league in OPS and third in defensive runs saved. 

His teammates took notice. 

“Just the way that All-Star Game voting and everything is,” Christian Yelich said, “it’s just somewhat of a popularity contest as much as it is about being a good player.” 

Turang’s overall production could make him among the first choices for a replacement in the inevitable scenario in which players drop out of the game, but it’s never a guarantee – especially with Wetherholt’s stellar season at the same position. 

“It’s not in my control,” Turang said. “All I can do is play baseball. If it happens, it happens. Those guys who made it are deserving of it. There’s guys who didn’t make it who are deserving of it. That’s how it is every year. I just want to control what I can and go out and play.” 

San Francisco second baseman Luis Arraez, having a resurgent year, won the player vote and has a higher WAR than Turang, according to FanGraphs. The tougher pill to swallow is Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies getting the starting nod by winning the fan vote – in which Turang finished third – despite ranking well below the likes of Turang, Wetherholt and even Pittsburgh’s Brandon Lowe and Arizona’s Ketel Marte in most categories. 

“Getting frustrated isn’t going to help anyone,” Turang said. “It’s not going to help anything. You want to get better as a player and control what you can. All I can do is play baseball. Me being frustrated is not going to change the fact that I did not make it. 

“I’m happy for the guys that did. They deserve it, just like there’s many guys who didn’t make it who deserve it. That’s part of it.” 

A slight skid in June may have hampered Turang’s chances just enough to matter in a crowded second base picture. Players voted last week, at which point Turang was in the end of a 15-game stretch in which he had a .494 OPS and struck out 26 times as his OPS dipped more than 80 points. 

During that span, Turang was searching for answers with his timing. If he was standing around the clubhouse or batting cage, chances are he had a bat in hand, simulating his pre-pitch load in an effort to get his hands in the right place at foot strike. 

Turang has been trying even more than usual to feel comfortable again, , trying out different feels at the plate of late.

First, he elevated his hands while keeping the bat tilted back behind his head.

Then he brought the bat vertical. 

He tilted his hands forward.

At one point, his stance even mimicked Ryan Braun’s to a tee.

For Turang, it’s all about finding the right pre-pitch feel, and it’s not even always a subconscious choice.

“Even last year I was moving a good amount,” Turang said. “I’ve always been that hitter my whole life. If I’m on time and behind the ball, that stuff doesn’t matter. It’s wanting to get to the same spot at foot strike is a big piece of it. Sometimes you do whatever feels comfortable at that moment.” 

Most importantly, Turang’s timing seems to be in a much better place. 

A leadoff single July 5 was Turang’s seventh hit in 12 at-bats to begin the series in Arizona, and over his last eight games, he’s 14 for 37 (.378) with a homer and four doubles.

Manager Pat Murphy has made note of how Turang is spraying the ball with authority to left field again, the surest sign that his swing is back in rhythm.

Turang’s swing on his clutch two-out single to left in the 11th inning July 3 was as simple as it got. There was little-to-no movement of the hands or head, just a simple leg kick and hard swing on a pitch tailing away from him.

Turang may not have been picked as an all-star in the first round of the rosters, but if he has found his form again, chances are he will keep playing like one anyway.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brice Turang may have been an all-star snub, but he’s found his swing again