Dodgers: Justin Turner Remains One of MLB’s Most Underrated Players

The city of Los Angeles honored Dodgers’ third baseman Justin Turner on Tuesday and while he receives recognition in LA, he remains one of the games most underrated players.

Justin Turner is easily one of the most popular athletes in Los Angeles and arguably the most clutch athlete the city has right now.  Whether it’s walk-off home runs at home or go ahead homers in the late innings on the road, JT has proven to be clutch time and time again for the Dodgers.  He is without a doubt the best hitter on the team and one of the best hitters in Major League baseball.

Over the past two seasons, Justin Turner has a 152 wRC+ which trails only three hitters in baseball over the last two years.  Those three hitters are Mike Trout, J.D. Martinez, and Aaron Judge.  It also puts him ahead of other feared sluggers like Jose Ramirez, Bryce Harper, and Manny Machado.  Yet for some reason, Turner’s name hardly ever comes up as one of the top third baseman in the league outside of Los Angeles, let alone one of the best hitters in baseball.

Perhaps the most likely cause for Justin getting overlooked is the fact that he was a late bloomer.  Non-tendered by the New York Mets after the 2013 season, the Dodgers picked up Turner giving him a shot in his hometown but even with the Dodgers he sat behind Juan Uribe at first.  It wasn’t until 2015 that JT picked up over 400 at-bats which is the usual amount of at-bats that every day starting players receive in a season.

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Beyond the batters box, Justin Turner is a very good at the hot corner.  While he is not quite on a Nolan Arenado level, Turner routinely makes the routine plays and then some as he has turned in some fine “web gems” over the last few seasons.  Most of his errors have come on errant throws, but with the glove he can go toe to toe defensively with almost any third baseman in the league.

Turner will be thirty-four years old for the 2019 season so while he is no spring chicken, he is not yet showing any signs of slowing down.  He remains one of the game’s toughest hitters to strike out and has a two strike approach that the other Dodger players should try to emulate.  Over the last two seasons, Turner has struck out just 110 times in 969 at-bats.  For comparison, Cody Bellinger struck out 151 times in 2018 alone.

It was great seeing the city of Los Angeles honor Justin Turner yesterday and here’s to hoping that the rest of baseball fans appreciate the player he is.  While he may not have been given superstar skills from the start like a Manny Machado or Bryce Harper, Justin has worked himself into being one of the game’s best third basemen and hitters in the league.  Here’s to hoping the injury bug doesn’t hit Turner in 2019, and he makes a run at the National League MVP award.