MLB Network amends massive Brewers mistake in re-ranking of league's best hitters

On the heels of an NL Player of the Month Award, Milwaukee Brewers' second baseman Brice Turang showed absolutely no signs of slowing down in last night's win over the Philadelphia Phillies. With two ringing extra-base hits, Turang raised his season slugging percentage to .450, while also surpassing the .800 OPS mark. Paired with a glove that has still generated nine defensive runs saved (DRS) — down from Turang's unbelievable 22 DRS a season ago — and a baserunning game that has resulted in 23 stolen bases, the Brewers' talented second baseman is clearly among the league's best.

However, back on August 18, Turang was a shocking omission from MLB Now's "Top 10 Second Basemen Right Now" list. MLB Now, a staple of MLB Network's weekday lineup, uses a tool called "The Shredder" to make their often controversial lists of the best players in the league at each position. The Shredder is MLB Network's internal analytical tool that combines traditional statistics, Sabermetrics, and input from the team at MLB Network to generate what should be an all-encompassing, accurate list. However, it often fails to include some very deserving players, as was the case with Brice Turang earlier this month.

As you can see in the video above, Turang has been underestimated by "The Shredder" all season long, not appearing on either the preseason list or the midseason update. Names like Matt McLain and Xavier Edwards, both of whom have a below-league-average OPS+ on the season, being included over Turang is simply laughable. The Brewers' second baseman not only has an OPS+ of 125, which is light years better than both McLain and Edwards, but Turang has continued to demonstrate that he's a complete ballplayer, leading all second basemen in MLB in bWAR.

Thankfully, on Thursday morning, MLB Network revealed its power rankings of the best hitters in baseball, and much to the delight of Brewers fans, their second baseman was redeemed.

MLB names Brice Turang one of league's best hitters after mid-August snub from top second baseman list

MLB released their updated power rankings of the league's best hitters, and despite not being a part of their list of the best second basemen in MLB, Brice Turang was included among names like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Juan Soto. Now, just two weeks after The Shredder snubbed him, Turang was deemed the 10th best hitter in all of baseball.

To be fair, MLB's power rankings are supposed to be a snapshot of the league's best hitters at a given moment in time. You'll notice that AL MVP candidate Cal Raleigh doesn't appear on the list despite having 51 home runs because he's had a rough last few weeks. In that regard, think of MLB's rankings as more of a "who are the best hitters over the last few weeks" list.

To that degree, not including Turang on this list would be ridiculous. Over his last 15 games, Turang is slashing .379/.463/.690 with 22 hits, four homers, and 10 RBI. He has carried the Brewers offense through one of their most difficult stretches of the season, ensuring they remain atop the MLB standings despite having to endure a brutal schedule.

Even still, the fact that two strong weeks can separate Turang from not being a top 10 second baseman to being one of the best hitters in all of baseball exposes some of the pitfalls in MLB's ranking system.  Yes, Turang has been unbelievable over the last few weeks, but he was more than deserving of a spot in The Shredder's top 10 in mid-August, and his performance since has made that clear.