Brice Turang is Hitting More Home Runs, Because He Stopped Trying to Hit Them

Brice Turang started the Brewers’ run of hitting five grand slams in eight games when he homered in San Diego last week, and he delivered the latest one in yesterday’s series finale against the division-rival Cubs. That second slam was Turang’s sixth home run of the year, tying his total from last season on the final day of June.

Turang has made good on Pat Murphy’s promise of a “quantum leap,” with a breakout season fueled by a more compact swing. While most of his offensive value has come from reaching base and wreaking havoc with his speed, he has also experienced a slight power boost.

The 24-year-old’s isolated power has increased from .082 in 2023 to .125 this year. He’s nudged his home run rate from one every 67.3 at-bats to one every 48. Turang is on pace to achieve a double-digit home run total this year.

That uptick has come after Turang enacted an approach that isn’t geared toward hitting home runs. He added about 20 pounds of muscle over the offseason, but not with the intent of demolishing fly balls over the fence.

“I’m not trying to crush or hit homers,” Turang said. “I’m trying to hit the ball hard back up the middle and just square it up. Good things happen when you’re focused like that.”

Instead, the added power is a byproduct of that approach. It may seem paradoxical at first, but it’s not a coincidence that an extra ounce of power has come with the other gains Turang has made.

Turang has become one of the game’s top contact hitters, and has one of baseball’s most controlled swings. That succinct and precise bat path enables him to consistently reach pitches that many hitters cannot, partially because it buys him more reaction time.

“If you’re shorter, you can make a decision later,” Pat Murphy said. “If you’re quicker to the ball because your bat path is shorter, you can wait longer and identify [pitches] better. We’re talking about instances, but it gives you a little sense of confidence that, ‘Yeah, I can get to that.’”

Being short to the ball keeps Turang from being late. It affords him the luxury of letting the ball get deep to shoot it to the opposite field. It’s also proving to be a vehicle by which Turang’s game power can play up from his raw power.

Turang still doesn’t generate much loud contact. According to TruMedia, his 33.3% hard-hit rate ranks in the 13th percentile of qualified hitters. That doesn’t mean Turang can’t take swings with the necessary ingredients to drive the ball over the fence, though.

While raw strength is a component of driving the ball, timing is also a significant factor. Rhys Hoskins generates ample natural power and can muscle out a home run on a ball he didn’t quite square up. Turang can’t. However, Turang’s compact swing helps him reach a contact point conducive to home runs.

Most of Turang’s home runs have not come on powerful-looking swings. Instead, he is catching the ball with his barrel just as it’s about to cross the plate. That’s an ideal contact point for loud pull-side contact in the air.

Turang hasn’t crushed most of these home runs, although he did launch a 419-foot blast in Anaheim on the Brewers’ last road trip. His average home run distance of 386.7 feet ranks in the 27th percentile. He’s generating just enough exit velocity in the air to his pull side, though. Five of his home runs have been hit to right or right-center.

Below are videos of Turang’s home runs this season. His swing does not look damage-oriented in any of them. Instead, the ball jumps off his bat just enough because his compact swing brings him to a great contact point. Players of any level will recognize these swings as the ones where they don’t feel the ball hit the bat.

There has been some good fortune involved. Turang’s first home run of the year was a wall-scraper in Cincinnati, and Statcast says his home run at Fenway Park would have cleared in just 15 of 30 parks. Yet, he would still have a shot at 10 in a full season had one or two not left the yard.

Turang certainly is not a power hitter. Nor is he trying to be one. Incidentally, that approach puts him in the best spot to hit more home runs. A double-digit home run tally would be a cherry on top of what has already blossomed into a productive offensive profile.