Trea Turner exceeding expectations in Syracuse, continuing whirlwind season

Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs shortstop Trea Turner is ranked as the No. 9 overall prospect in the mid-season Baseball America updated list.

Turner has played 34 games with the Chiefs after playing 68 games in Double-A, 10 of those with the Harrisburg Senators.

Syracuse Chiefs play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brown joined me Sunday on "Nats Insider" on 106.7 The Fan and quoted a familiar refrain when discussing Turner's abilities.

"Trea has been so much fun to watch," Brown said. "Nationals fans are going to love this kid for a few reasons. The first I'll start with is he's 22, he was drafted last year, he looks like he's about 14. And yet he has a pretty unflappable mentality. (Sunday) was not great one with three strikeouts. I'll bet you he gets two or three hits (Monday). He's that kind of kid that any bad game he's had he follows it up, he goes 3-for-5, makes a great play in the field."

The Nationals like a lot about Turner, but one thing that they covet is baseball players who can run. Turner can do that.

"He is wildly fast," Brown said. "He was one the faster runners in the league. Any slow ground ball is going to be a base hit with him at the plate. He drives the ball really well the other way, and that's something that folks may not know if they haven't seen him and you just look at the numbers. He hits the ball to right field and right center very well, he hits it hard. He has some power. He hit a home run (Saturday) the folks estimated 403 feet to left-center in Rochester, which is a very difficult park for a right-handed hitter in deep left center."

Defensively, Turner can also hold his own.

"He makes a lot of plays in the field," Brown said. "And that's probably the one question with Trea: Is he a shortstop, is he a second baseman or something else long-term? His arm is good, it's not going to blow you away. It's not Andrelton Simmons' arm. It's not a power arm. I understand that's where the concern comes in. He has made a few errors. But his range is terrific. He gets to just about everything. I think the arm is solid."

Despite playing with three teams this season, Turner has done a great job of acclimating to his new environment and new level, and then succeeding again.

"He's a sharp kid, and he's somebody that has never seemed overwhelmed," Brown said. "He got off to a slow start with Syracuse. He said to me it's not a matter of figuring out pitching, it's just a matter of figuring out what he needed to do. He has felt comfortable really since Day 1 here. I've been very impressed with him."

The best measure of a player is to hear what opponents say about him. On a recent road trip, Brown said Turner got some glowing reviews.

"I was just talking to some of the folks in Rochester and they thought he was good as any position player prospect they'd seen in the league this year," Brown said.

Turner was a part of a much-ballyhooed trade that involved three teams and 11 players. He came over from the Padres in the offseason, but because he was a top selection in the first round, he was not allowed to be given to the Nationals until the middle of June. So he played the first 58 games of this season with the Double-A San Antonio Missions. Brown said that may frustrate most players, but not a player of the makeup of Turner.

"It would drive me crazy, it would probably drive most people crazy," Brown said. "Trea within two minutes of meeting him you realize, 'OK, he's about as level-headed and laid back as anybody.' It just didn't bother him as much, it sounded like.

"The Padres treated him well, to their credit, they hit him third for most of the year, which he said he'd never done. He's used to hitting leadoff. With the Chiefs, he's mostly hitting second. He had no complaints by the way it was handled. Obviously his game developed, he's developed more power this year. He's really mature for his age. I think that strikes you the maturity when talking to him. Not everyone would've handled that situation well but he handled it with great aplomb."

Despite playing only 10 games with Harrisburg, Senators play-by-play man Terry Byrom echoed Brown's thoughts on how good Turner can be at this game.

"So many of these guys now that are the big prospects are these huge athletes. You could picture them playing shooting guard or you could picture them being a defensive back," Byrom said. "Trea Turner is a baseball player. Turner is a shortstop, he's a middle infielder. That's what he is. The short time he was here it was just fun to watch because he has baseball instinct. You could easily picture him being a guy that's going to be in the big leagues and know what's going on.

"(He) had an idea with every single at-bat. Had an idea what to do with the ball playing shortstop. Just really a lot of fun to watch."

The next step for Turner is likely to be a September call-up to the Nationals, which would be his fourth different team this season. Judging from Turner's work so far this summer, he will succeed again and again.