Is Brice Turang quietly becoming the best second baseman in baseball? The Milwaukee Brewers' 26-year-old infielder has never made an All-Star team, but his 2025 campaign is making a powerful statement that he belongs in the conversation.

Turang is putting together a breakout season that builds on last year's impressive leap forward. On Thursday, May 14, he reached base three more times and added a double to his growing highlight reel. Through the early part of the season, he already has six home runs—putting him on pace to surpass the career-best 18 he crushed last year. His .422 on-base percentage leads all qualified hitters in the majors, while his .933 OPS and 163 OPS+ make him one of the most dangerous bats in the game. Add in 10 doubles, a triple, 27 RBIs, and eight stolen bases, and you have the complete offensive package.

By the numbers, Turang is the most valuable player on the Brewers roster. He leads the team with a 2.2 WAR (Baseball Reference) and a 2.0 WAR (FanGraphs), and those stats place him firmly among the elite second basemen in the league.

But here's where things get interesting. While Turang's glove looks every bit as elite as his bat—he makes flashy plays look routine and has a knack for anticipation that passes the eye test with flying colors—the defensive metrics tell a different story. According to The Fielding Bible's "defensive runs saved" metric, Turang is tied for 13th among second basemen with just one run saved. That puts him well behind Seattle's Cole Young (10) and St. Louis rookie JJ Wetherholt (6).

Statcast's "outs above average" metric is even less impressed, giving Turang a score of zero—tied for 21st among second basemen with several others, including Luis Arraez, who has nine.

So what gives? It could be that traditional defensive metrics haven't yet found a way to fully capture Turang's anticipation and instincts—the kind of intangibles that make him look like he's always one step ahead of the play. Still, it's worth noting that calling Turang an "elite defender" is a bit more controversial than it might seem at first glance.

That said, the debate only adds to the intrigue. With a loaded field of contenders at second base, Turang's combination of elite offense and eye-popping defense—even if the metrics are still catching up—makes him a legitimate candidate for the title of best in the game. Whether the numbers eventually catch up to the eye test remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Brice Turang is playing at an All-Star level, and the rest of the league is taking notice.