Brewers select Turang

When the Minnesota Twins selected Oregon State outfielder Trevor Larnach with the 20th pick in the first round of the major league baseball draft Monday night, there was excitement in the Milwaukee Brewers' headquarters.

The Brewers had been connected to Larnach in mock drafts but the player they really wanted was prep shortstop Brice Turang, and they were thrilled to call his name with the 21st pick.

"He's been a Brewers Area Code and Fall Team player, so he's actually already wore the Brewers uniform, which is pretty exciting," said amateur scouting director Tod Johnson. "We have a really good relationship with him.

"We're real excited about this. He was someone we were interested in all year. We're pretty excited it worked out the way it did tonight to acquire a quality player at a premium position."

Turang, a 6-foot-1, 165-pound, lefthanded hitter, played for Santiago High

School in Corona, Calif. He was projected to go higher in the first round than the 21st pick after performing well for two years for Team USA's 18 Under national team and winning four varsity letters at his school.

Area scout Wynn Pelzer, the lead man for Milwaukee's 2017 first-rounder, Keston Hiura of UC-Irvine, and regional supervisor Josh Belovsky know Turang as well as any player the Brewers had on their board.

"Brice has been with us for three years," Belovsky said. "He's been on the map for years. As a freshman, he was on the varsity team. He's always had an innate ability to hit. He can stay at shortstop; he's a premium defender there.

"We're getting a guy who can potentially be an all-star and hit at the top of the lineup for you. A plus runner, solid arm, leader on the field. A solid overall player."

Of the Twins picking ahead of the Brewers, Belovsky said, "We were holding our breath. We were thrilled to be able to select him. Hopefully, one day we see a Hiura-Turang combination (up the middle). That would be pretty special."

Turang has a scholarship to LSU and said he is willing to honor that commitment but Johnson indicated the Brewers are confident he will sign. The team will have to do better than they did with his father, Brian Turang, a 20th round draft pick of the Brewers in 1987 out of Long Beach City College who didn't sign and was taken again two years later in the 51st round by Seattle.

The assigned signing bonus for the 21st pick is just over $3 million.

"We'll see how that plays out; I'm not concerned about it," Johnson said. "I think we will be able to reach an agreement with them. His commitment to LSU is strong and he has said previously, and consistently, he likes LSU and is willing to go there.

"But he has also said that he really wants to start his professional baseball career. We're very familiar with him, being in the dugout with him. That certainly helps us to some degree. I expect that we will sign him and he'll go out and start his professional career."

Turang's best tool is his speed, allowing him to create havoc on the bases and show great range in the field. How much he'll hit at the next level has been a subject of some debate but there is no argument that he will remain at shortstop, a premium position.

"We started the night hoping Brice would still be there," Johnson said. "It's a kid we know, from a long history, is also a quality person. You never do know until the pick before you goes off the board. We're looking forward to getting him out playing."