Josh Jung is turning heads in Texas Rangers’ camp

The Texas Rangers’ top prospect has been the talk of spring training, and his presence is being seen by the big league coaching staff early this spring.

Top prospect Josh Jung met with the Rangers’ media yesterday, and made a significant first impression.

Any and everyone on the Zoom meeting got to see first-hand why the Texas Rangers love this kid so much.

Josh Jung is at Texas Rangers camp, but likely won’t see the big league roster initially.

Jung is in Rangers’ camp this spring looking to make the Opening Day roster, but as of now, looks to be a long shot.

He spent last season at the Texas Rangers’ alternate site at Globe Life Park, impressing coaches and teammates across the street from the beginning.

Although he’s impressed plenty, a simple impression is not enough to force a decision and rush his development.

Manager Chris Woodward also said that Jung would have to be “unreal” this spring to force his way onto the Texas Rangers’ Opening Day roster.

But don’t hear the Rangers’ skipper wrong, he wants to see his future third baseman, but not at the expense of those more ready to see the Opening Day roster.

"“I obviously want to have him on our team at some point. I’m not saying we are planning on that because he’s got to earn it. But if everything goes as we kind of anticipate, there’s a good chance he might be with us at some point.” – Chris Woodward"

Woodward also said that he’s seen a lot of growth in Jung’s game, and the opportunity for the top prospect to showcase himself in front of the entire Rangers’ staff will be very important for the next step in his development.

One of the key aspects of his rise will be how he handles promotions, adversity and other challenges of being a big leaguer, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the former Red Raider.

Josh Jung is arguably one of the most mature prospects the Texas Rangers have ever seen, and his maturity shows greatly when hearing his view on getting to Arlington.

"“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be in this position. … Having this opportunity, being able to go out everyday to try and prove myself, is motivation in itself, to go out there and play the best baseball I can. I’d say my only focus right now is when I do get opportunities in game, in practice, go out there and play the best baseball I can. Getting on the big league roster is not in my control, at all. I’m just letting those guys take care of that decision, and I just play the best baseball I can and try and force them to make that decision.” – Josh Jung"

Josh Jung is giving the Texas Rangers reasons to be high on his future.

His maturation is just one of the reasons the Texas Rangers love the San Antonio native, but his bat is on another level.

He was one of the best hitters at the collegiate level, earning Co-Big 12 Player of the Year honors with fellow Rangers’ draftee and former Baylor Bear Davis Wendzel.

The only kicker with his bat is that he hasn’t seen major league ready pitching yet.

He’ll get that opportunity this spring, but his short sample size in the minors is very encouraging.

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Jung has yet to play a full year in the minor leagues, playing 44 games in 2019, adding to the doubt of his Opening Day presence.

The Texas Tech alum was impressive in his short sample size, hitting .316 with two home runs and 28 RBIs over two levels of the low minors.

He added 18 walks and an on-base percentage of .389, slugged .443 and had an OPS of .831.

Again, that’s against some of the youngest, most undeveloped players in the minor leagues, but coaches rave about how advanced of a hitter Jung is.

He is a very mature hitter, and showed that during his interviews yesterday.

"“It wasn’t really about pulling the ball with more authority, it was about changing my approach and being able to hit the ball that way. In college the way I got pitched, everything was going to be away or offspeed and I had to really stay through the baseball. That’s just where a lot of my hits went. But now, getting into pro-ball with a wooden bat, people are going to star coming in under your hands and try to break your bat. So, it’s been more of an adjustment on my approach” – Josh Jung"

When he was drafted, the Texas Rangers wanted to see more pull-power from the young third baseman and he has proven he is more than capable of doing so.

All that to say, Josh Jung is in big league camp, turning heads and looking to break into the major leagues soon.

Jung’s presence in Rangers’ camp this spring is a bode of confidence for the newly turned 23-year old, and is the first step to him filling the shoes of Adrian Beltre at the hot corner for years to come.