Down on the Farm: An Interview with Milwaukee Brewers Prospect Brice Turang
It’s been an exciting few weeks for fans of amateur baseball- the College World Series is in full swing and the MLB Draft took place on June 3. (If you’re curious, I nailed 29 players right among the top 34 picks. Pros Carlos Collazo of Baseball America got 30 and Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline got 27.) The day after the draft, I caught up with Brice Turang, one of the top prospects in the Midwest League and a Milwaukee Brewers farmhand..
Turang was a high school shortstop out of California. He was drafted with the 21st overall pick by the Brewers in 2018 and is currently hitting .322 with 13 stolen bases through 53 games for the Single A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The 19 year old Turang was recently named a top 100 prospect by Baseball America.
Turang is an excellent all fields kind of hitter who makes good consistent contact with plus speed. I was able to do a short interview with him and got to know him a little better, below are some of the highlights from my interview.
James Weisser: Who are some of your favorite players to watch?
Brice Turang: As a kid I went to alot of Angels games mainly a lot of Mariners-Angels games so I enjoyed watching Ichiro he was just a great contact guy. As I’ve gotten older I’ve begun to watch a lot of other players, I try to pay attention to how players are more off the field than on the field, how they carry themselves. I used to really like Daniel Murphy when I was in high school. Now I get to watch everybody and that’s one of the biggest things I enjoy.
JW: What is your favorite thing about the game of Baseball?
BT: Being able to come out here and compete everyday. I love doing what I’m doing, I feel like the competition helps bring out the best in me and the competition is awesome.
JW: What’s your favorite movie?
BT: I get a chance to watch a lot of movies on the bus trips and I asked my brother in law what one of the best action movies was and he said to watch Gladiator and so I really enjoyed watching that recently.
JW: What’s your favorite food?
BT: Steak, it has to be steak, a well cooked steak is probably my favorite food.
JW: What type of music do you like to listen to?
BT: I like a little bit of everything, but I’m not really into any of the new school rap. I like country but it varies it’s kind of just whatever I’m feeling that day.
JW: What do you like to do outside of baseball, what is one of your interests?
BT: I just started golfing in the last year and I’m really starting to get into it, and I’m enjoying it, and I definitely want to get better at that game.
JW: If you could be any super hero or have any super hero’s ability what would it be?
BT: Oh, That’s a tough one because there’s a lot of good choices but if I could be any super hero it would be Thor.
JW: What got you interested in playing baseball?
BT: My dad played and I enjoyed it. I always enjoyed watching him. I loved playing it, my sisters were playing softball and I’d always go to their games and play with them. I just love competing no matter what it is. Baseball brings that out in me.
JW: What inspires you to do your best?
BT: I always want to do my best no matter what it is I do.
JW: What part of your game do you feel you do your best at and what do you feel you need to work on improving?
BT: There’s always something you need to work on no matter what it is. I work on everything I do… probably just strength, getting bigger, getting more mature physically, but I just work on everything.
JW: What’s something people might not know about you?
BT: I was born with six toes so I had to get surgery when I was like one years old to get it removed, that’s something that nobody knows.
JW: How are you using your talents to help others?
BT: I always felt that if this is what God wants me to do and this is where I’m going to bless people in life then that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to bless them within baseball and within the outskirts of baseball, and there’s just a calling in my life. I just pray to hear from God and see what it is He wants me to do, but I feel that this is where He has me and this why He allows me to play baseball so that people can hear and see from me through baseball and through personal relationships with others. I feel baseball was a gift and a blessing and to kind of go out there and spread the word through my career.
