The prewar US Navy needed better propulsion more than battlecruisers

Should the pre-First-World-War US Navy have given up a battleship class to build battlecruisers?

No. It was more important to preserve the Standard-type line and improve turbine technology for future fast ships.

The proposed American alternative does not trade away a class of battleships for prewar battlecruisers. The Standard-type concept depended on a coherent line of ships with similar tactical characteristics. Removing one class would weaken that system without fixing the industrial and engineering limits behind American high-speed capital-ship design. Turbine development therefore receives priority. Better propulsion would later make fast heavy ships more practical without abandoning the existing battle line.