Keep An Eye On This Milwaukee Brewer As You Place Your Rookie Of The Year Bets
I know, I’m probably overreacting–but I’ve got a HOT NL Rookie of the Year bet that you may want to lock in before it’s took late.
“But Frank,” you’re saying, “It’s only been a handful of games–how can you know?”
You know what, hypothetical person, you’re right: it has only been a handful of games. And if the Rookie of the Year awards were given out this hastily we’d be stuck with Nick Senzel and Joneshwy Fargas as winners in the past (sorry for the ricochet shot, fellas).
But one rookie on the Milwaukee Brewers has come out of NOWHERE and is making an immediate impact on the field. In just four games he has gone 5 for 10 with 5 runs, two steals, one home run and five RBIs–and his odds to win the NL Rookie of the Year award are still +4000 on FanDuel Sportsbook.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, his name is Brice Turang–and he could very well be the next big name in the MLB.
Who IS Brice Turang?
I know, Turang wasn’t exactly on my radar coming into the season either, but he’s been a big name on the Brewers' hopefuls list for quite some time. The 23-year-old shortstop was the first rookie to start at the position on Opening Day for the Brewers since JJ Hardy in 2006, and he’s doing everything he can to prove his worth.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell has been enamored with Turang’s defensive abilities for a while now, saying in an interview on Monday morning that “In my eye, what he's doing defensively and what he did in Spring Training, it's going to be fun to watch.”
However, what’s taken the MLB world by surprise so far is his offensive output. Turang was never known for having a big bat, and Counsell himself has even recognized that, saying “You know, offensively, look, we've given Brice a big challenge offensively…”
“It's been a good start, but it's a big challenge offensively. He's going to have some bad days, he's going to have hopefully more good days, but he's going to be tested.”
Well, I’m no scout, but I’d say Turang is passing that test with flying colors right now. He hit his first-ever Major League home run on Monday, April 3rd, in the Brewers' home opener against the Mets.
With his parents in the stands watching, Turang did more than just hit his first big leaguer homer–he hit his first big league GRAND SLAM, making him the fourth player in Brewers history to hit a grand slam for their first career home run.
Turang came into the season as the Brewers' #5 prospect but has quickly exceeded those expectations. If he’s able to keep up this level of offensive output, and the defensive play is as good as Counsell alludes, then he’ll be a shoo-in for the NL Rookie of the Year award.
And for those who love a good storyline, Turang winning the NL Rookie of the Year award would be something out of a Disney movie. Turang was born with type one diabetes and has fought his illness his whole life. Many teams passed up on Turang in the draft because of it, but the Brewers took a chance–and it looks like it’s starting to pay off.
