Brice Turang ranks in the middle of the pack of John Sickels' top-100 prospects list

It would be an understatement to say the Milwaukee Brewers’ farm system is not highly regarded at the moment.

Between graduations and trades, the Brewers have slid to near (or at) the bottom of organizational rankings, with very few prospects being considered for those highly-regarded top-100 spots.

The one candidate for one of those spots seems to be shortstop Brice Turang, the team’s first-round pick in 2018. He ended up hitting .257/.367/.340 with 30 steals and 83 walks in 470+ plate appearances between Low-A Wisconsin and High-A Carolina in his first full season as a professional -- a solid year considering he was so young for those levels of the system.

Not everyone is sold on his potential -- J.P. Breen noted on a recent Milwaukee’s Tailgate podcast that Turang would not be included in Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101 prospects list coming out later this winter -- but at least one prospect writer remains high on the young infielder.

John Sickels, now writing for The Athletic (subscription required but recommended), is keeping Turang fairly steady in his Top 100 prospects list, ranking him 62nd this year after slotting him 61st last year.

Sickels’ assessment:

Solid glove, extremely patient at the plate, maybe too patient, but high OBP with speed gives nice leadoff ability; I retain some optimism about his long-term power although most disagree.

The questions about Turang’s power seem to be fair, at least early in his career. While some think he can eventually add more power as he matures, he’s only managed 4 home runs and 25 doubles in 756 career plate appearances.

There are a lot of caveats to consider -- again, he’s largely been facing much older and developed competition, and he spent 2019 in some pitcher-friendly leagues (starting the year in the cold of the Midwest League and ending the year in the Carolina League). But there are enough concerns that he may barely crack most top-100 lists, if he makes it at all.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference