Justin Turner has slowly but surely morphed into one of the best third baseman in baseball. His hitting prowess is well known by now. The Dodgers hit him third in the lineup for a reason as the red dream is in the top 5 in most of the offensive categories in the National League. So far in 2017 Turner is slashing .357/.434/.476 with one home run and 16 runs driven in. Turner has 45 hits and a .911 OPS in 145 plate appearances.
Not only is Turner a great hitter, but he’s also a great defender at the hot corner. The defensive metrics love him. Last year he rated at +7 defensive runs saved and a +19 total zone runs above average. This season he’s made just two errors and has 12 defensive runs saved. It’s no wonder he’s rated so highly when he makes plays like this one….
And this….
Turner has been flashing the leather all weekend during this series with the Rockies in Colorado. He has cat like reflexes and moves like a ninja. They once said that Turner was so quick that he could turn out the lights and be in bed before the room got dark. Ok so that was actually cool Papa Bell, but I’m just saying Turner is good y’all.
He is definitely under rated at the position. Was a Gold Glove finalist last year. I will be glad when his bat catches up with his glove. Hitting for average, but not crushing the ball like he was earlier…..Looks like they will split this series 2-2 and leave town the way they came in 1.5 games out and on to SF.