Trea Turner

For the American football player, see Trai Turner.
Trea Turner

Turner with the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals – No. 7
Center fielder / Second baseman / Shortstop
Born: (1993-06-30) June 30, 1993
Lake Worth, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 21, 2015, for the Washington Nationals
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Batting average .329
Home runs 14
Runs batted in 41
Hits 114
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Trea Vance Turner (born June 30, 1993) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at North Carolina State University (NC State). The San Diego Padres selected Turner in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft, and traded him to the Nationals in 2015. Turner made his MLB debut with the Nationals on August 21, 2015.

Developed by the Padres and Nationals primarily as a shortstop, Turner has made most of his appearances at the MLB level in center field and at second base.[1][2] He is considered one of the fastest runners in Major League Baseball, being clocked at a 22.7 mph max speed at least twice during the 2016 season.[1]

Early life

Trea Turner was born in Lake Worth, Florida on June 30, 1993 to parents Mark and Donna. He has an older sister, Teal.[3][4]

Amateur career

Turner attended Park Vista Community High School in Lake Worth, Florida, where he played for his school's baseball team.[5] Turner was lightly recruited by college programs, only receiving scholarship offers from North Carolina State University (NC State) and Florida Atlantic University.[6] The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Turner in the 20th round, with the 602nd overall selection, of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft.[7] Turner opted to attend NC State, to play college baseball for the NC State Wolfpack baseball team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I.[6]

As a freshman in 2012, Turner shifted from the shortstop position to play as a third baseman. That year, he had a .336 batting average, a .432 on-base percentage, and recorded 57 stolen bases while only being caught stealing four times.[8] His 57 steals were more than the team totals of 158 Division I teams,[5] and set an NC State record.[9] He also tied the ACC record for steals in one game with five.[10] Turner was named to the All-Tournament Team in the 2012 ACC Tournament.

In 2013, Turner had a .378 batting average with seven home runs, 41 runs batted in (RBIs), and 27 stolen bases. He was named to the All-ACC first team, and was named a second team All-American by Perfect Game and a third team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Baseball America. He was named a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, given to the best shortstop in NCAA's Division I.[11] That summer, Turner played for the United States national collegiate baseball team.[12] As a junior in 2014, he hit .321 with eight home runs and 26 stolen bases. After the season, he was named the winner of the Brooks Wallace Award.[13]

Professional career

2014: Drafted and traded

Aaron Fitt of Baseball America considered Turner a likely first round choice in the 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.[6] The San Diego Padres selected Turner in the first round, with the 13th overall selection.[14] He signed on June 13, receiving a $2.9 million signing bonus.[15] He made his professional debut three days later with the Eugene Emeralds of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League.[16] After he batted .228 in 26 games for Eugene, the Padres promoted him to the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Class A Midwest League, where he batted .369 in 46 games. The Padres assigned him to play for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League after the regular season.[17][18]

On December 19, 2014, the Padres reportedly agreed to trade Turner to the Washington Nationals as a player to be named later as part of a three-team trade, in which the Padres traded Jake Bauers, Burch Smith, and René Rivera to the Tampa Bay Rays and Joe Ross to Washington, and Washington traded Steven Souza and Travis Ott to Tampa Bay, and Tampa traded Wil Myers to San Diego.[19] This unusual arrangement was a result of Turner being ineligible to be traded before mid-June because of MLB rules that prevent players to be traded within a year of their being drafted. Turner's agent, Jeff Berry, stated to the media that it was an unfair process to force him to play half the season for a team that traded him and had no further interest in promoting his development. He claimed he would be filing a grievance through the players union.[20]

2015: Major league debut

Turner reported to spring training with the Padres as a non-roster invitee,[21] and the Padres assigned him to the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League.[22] He hit .322 with five home runs and 35 RBIs with 11 stolen bases for San Antonio. On June 14, 2015, Turner was sent to the Nationals to complete the trade made in December, and was assigned to the Harrisburg Senators of the Class AA Eastern League.[23] After playing ten games for Harrisburg, the Nationals promoted Turner to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League.[24] Turner represented the Nationals at the 2015 All-Star Futures Game.[25]

On August 21, 2015, the Nationals promoted Turner to the major leagues.[26] He made his major league debut that night.[27] Turner went nine at-bats before collecting his first major league hit on September 3, beating out a ground ball to reach first base safely.[28] He finished the 2015 season with a .225 batting average through 40 at-bats with one home run and one RBI.

2016

In spring training in 2016, Turner competed with Danny Espinosa and Stephen Drew to be the Nationals starting shortstop.[29] The Nationals optioned Turner to Syracuse at the end of spring training.[30] Turner was called up on June 3, 2016, for a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. He went 3-for-3 with a walk in his first game at the major league level of the season, playing second base and shortstop.[31] He was optioned back to Syracuse at the end of the series, as first baseman Ryan Zimmerman was reactivated from paternity leave.[32]

With Michael A. Taylor and Ben Revere turning in lackluster offensive performances as the Nationals' primary center fielders, and Espinosa performing well as the team's everyday shortstop, Turner began getting starts in center field with the Chiefs midway through the season. He debuted in center field on June 27, his first professional appearance as an outfielder,[33] and after being recalled by the Nationals in July, Turner made his first major league start in center field on July 26.[34]

Turner was honored with the Major League Baseball Rookie of the Month Award in the National League for his performance in August 2016, hitting .357 on the month with five home runs and 11 stolen bases.[35]

References

  1. 1 2 Castillo, Jorge (September 4, 2016). "Trea Turner is faster than you, and probably everyone else in baseball". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. Fagerstrom, August (July 19, 2016). "Trea Turner and the Recent History of Outfield Conversions". Fangraphs. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  3. Dodson, Aaron (August 22, 2015). "Friends, family, former coaches and teammates make trip for Nationals shortstop Trea Turner's rookie debut". Washington Post. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  4. Matz, Eddie (August 4, 2016). "Not just a folktale: Nationals' Trea Turner really is that fast". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Strelow, Bret (June 15, 2013). "N.C. State's Trea Turner combines power with speed". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "NC State Wolfpack freshman Trea Turner still sneaking up on opposition – NCAA baseball tournament". ESPN.com. ESPN. May 31, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  7. Price, Karen (June 8, 2011). "Bucs bet on Bell in 2nd round". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  8. Svrluga, Barry (March 30, 2015). "The curious case of Trea Turner". Washington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  9. "Baseball: Park Vista grad Trea Turner sets N.C State record | High School Buzz". The Palm Beach Post. April 12, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  10. Woodward, Bill (April 23, 2012). "RALEIGH: N.C. State's Trea Turner more than a base-stealing phenom | NC State". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  11. "NC State's Trea Turner Named Brooks Wallace Award Finalist". WFMY-TV. June 16, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  12. Rupard, Wade (July 24, 2013). "DURHAM: Team USA experience a 'grind' for NC State's Turner | NC State". The News & Observer. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  13. "N.C. State's Trea Turner Wins Brooks Wallace Award". WFMY-TV. June 28, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  14. "Shortstop Turner goes to Padres at No. 13". MLB.com. June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  15. Kring-Schreifels, Jake (June 13, 2014). "First-rounder Turner signs with Padres". MLB.com. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  16. Sanders, Jeff (June 17, 2014). "Minors: Trea Turner debuts for Eugene". U-T San Diego. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  17. Sanders, Jeff (September 19, 2014). "Trea Turner visits Petco Park: Padres' first-rounder just beginning busy offseason". U-T San Diego. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  18. Cahill, Teddy (October 21, 2014). "Turner leads group of Padres prospects in AFL". MLB.com. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  19. Cwick, Chris (December 19, 2014). "Padres, Rays and Nationals complete Wil Myers trade". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  20. Rosenthal, Ken (December 19, 2014). "Free Trea Turner: Age-old rule requires Nats' PTBN to stay with Padres till June". Fox Sports. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  21. Lin, Dennis (February 24, 2015). "Trea Turner, a Nationals player to be named later, arrives in Padres' big-league camp". U-T San Diego. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  22. Lin, Dennis (April 7, 2015). "Trea Turner opening season in Double-A: Nationals PTBNL begins season with Padres' Double-A affiliate". U-T San Diego. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  23. Snyder, Matt (June 14, 2015). "Trea Turner finally heads to Nationals system". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  24. James Wagner (June 25, 2015). "Trea Turner promoted to Class AAA Syracuse". Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  25. James Wagner (June 25, 2015). "Lucas Giolito, Trea Turner selected to Futures Game". Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  26. Dybas, Todd (August 21, 2015). "Trea Turner called up by Washington Nationals". The Washington Times. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  27. Quillen, Ian (August 22, 2015). "Nationals SS Trea Turner debuts in 10-3 loss to Brewers". The Washington Times. Associated Press. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  28. "After brief delay, Trea Turner collects first major league hit". MASN Sports. September 4, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  29. M, Ghost of Steve. "The Mixed Bag of Spring Training Stats for the #Nats". TalkNats.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  30. Dykstra, Sam (March 28, 2016). "Nationals send Turner down to Triple-A: Speedy shortstop optioned to Syracuse, shouldn't be down for long". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  31. "Nationals' Trea Turner: Notches three hits in season debut". CBS Sports. June 3, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  32. "Nationals activate Zimmerman from paternity list, option Turner". WPTZ. June 6, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  33. Elhardt, Magnus (June 27, 2016). "Washington Nationals to test Trea Turner in center field". Federal Baseball. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  34. Lingebach, Chris (July 26, 2016). "Speedy Trea Turner to Make Center Field Debut for Nationals". CBS DC. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  35. "Trea Turner named NL Rookie of the Month". MASN Sports. September 3, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
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