Josh Jung

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Joshua Ryne Jung

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Biographical Information[edit]

Third baseman Josh Jung was the 8th overall pick of the 2019 amateur draft, selected by the Texas Rangers. He was a local product, born and raised in Texas and coming out of Texas Tech University. He was consistently excellent in his three seasons in college, batting .306, .392 and .343, with 80 RBIs in 65 games the second of these years. He also played regularly at shortstop in addition to third base. He played in the College World Series in both 2018 and 2019. He was the second-highest drafted player in school history, after only Donald Harris who went #5 overall in the 1989 amateur draft.

The Rangers started him off in the Arizona League after he signed with them in 2019, but the level was obviously too low for him, as he went 10 for 17 in 4 games. He was then promoted to the Hickory Crawdads of the South Atlantic League, where he batted .287 in 40 games - although, surprisingly, he hit only one homer, a very low total for someone who had shown consistent home run power in college. After having to sit out the 2020 season, and then being out until June in 2021 because of a stress fracture in his foot, he returned to action by splititng the year between the AA Frisco Rough Riders and AAA Round Rock Express, batting over .300 at both stops. In fact, his overall line was .326/.398/.592 in 78 games, with 22 doubles and 19 homers. He seemed to be on the verge of taking over at third base for the Rangers at that position, a position where there was no real incumbent to beat out, but there was bad news in spring training in 2022. He injured his left shoulder lifting weights over the off-season and had to undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum. The prognosis was that he would be out of action for six months, although he was expected to make a full recovery.

In 2022, after recovering from the surgery, he had time to play 8 games with the ACL Rangers on a rehabilitation assignment, followed by 23 in AAA with the Round Rock Express. There he batted .273 but with excellent power in the form of 7 doubles and 6 homers, for a slugging percentage of .525. He was called up to Texas to make his major league debut on September 9th against the Toronto Blue Jays, starting at third base and batting 7th. In his first big league at-bat, he homered off Ross Stripling in the 3rd inning and overall went 2 for 4 in his team's 4-3 loss. He hit .204 in 26 games in his first taste of the Show. He made the Rangers' opening day roster in 2023 and was named the American League Rookie of the Month for April when he hit .270 in 26 games with 4 homers and 15 RBIs. He repeated as the Rookie of the Month in May, when the Rangers emerged as a power in the AL, as he ended the month on a 14-game hitting streak, hit 4 homers and 5 doubles, drove in 12 runs while batting .318. He was then voted the starting third baseman for the AL in the 2023 All-Star Game. His outstanding season was interrupted on August 6th when he broke his thumb when Jorge Soler of the Miami Marlins hit a scorching line drive off his glove. He still managed to field the ball and start a double play, but had to leave the game. He was hitting .274 with 22 homers and 67 RBIs in 109 games at the time. He had to undergo surgery and only made it back on September 18th. He ended the season at .266 in 122 games, with 23 homers, 70 RBIs and an OPS+ of 109. He finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year vote and was named to the 2023 MLB All-Rookie Team. He had an excellent postseason, hitting .308 in 17 games over the four series which the Rangers played and contributing 4 doubles, 3 homers and 8 RBIs. The rangers won the first World Series title in franchise history, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games.

He was off to a scorching start in 2024, hitting .412 and slugging .941 in his first four games when he suffered a second significant injury in as many years, fracturing his right wrist when he swung at a pitch that hit him on April 1st. He was placed on the 60-day injured list s he was expected to be out for another prolonged stretch.

His brother Jace Jung, a second baseman who also attended Texas Tech, was selected with the #12 pick in the 2022 amateur draft by the Detroit Tigers.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Kennedi Landry: "Rangers prospect Jung out 6 months after shoulder surgery", mlb.com, February 23, 2022. [1]
  • Kennedi Landry: "Jung suffers fractured right wrist on swing", mlb.com, April 1, 2024. [2]
  • Janie Mccauley (Associated Press): "Rangers rookie third baseman Josh Jung to have surgery this week on fractured left thumb", Yahoo! Sports, August 7, 2023. [3]
  • Matt Monagan: "Meditation, mantras and ... toilets? The mental game of Josh Jung", mlb.com, September 1, 2023. [4]

Related Sites[edit]

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