Josh Jung is on the move from Double A Frisco. Here's where top Texas Rangers prospect is headed.
The 2019 first-round pick would have moved up a few days earlier had he not been in the COVID-19 protocols.
Josh Jung, the Texas Rangers’ 2019 first-round pick and their top prospect entering the season, started at designated hitter Friday night for Triple A Round Rock after a promotion from Double A Frisco.
Jung departs Frisco after posting a .308 batting average with 10 home runs and a .910 OPS in 168 at-bats. The former Texas Tech star missed the first six weeks of the season after undergoing foot surgery in late March.
“Going through Triple A is a big part of development,” farm director Paul Kruger said. “It’s a different baseball. It’s different travel. It’s a little more veteran, 4-A guys that you have to face night in and night out. I think it’s a good step forward from that perspective.”
The expectation entering the season was that Jung was be the Rangers’ third baseman by this point in the season, but the foot injury derailed that timeline. Jung also just returned from nine days in the COVID-19 protocols, and his promotion to Round Rock was delayed a few days by that.
The Rangers haven’t ruled out promoting Jung to the majors this season so that he can get his feet wet in preparations for 2022, but the club is facing a crunch on the 40-man roster. With the minor-league season running through Sept. 19, Jung will have a place to get regular at-bats without having to be in the majors.
Several players who started the season at Frisco have been moved to Round Rock recently, and Jung said earlier this month that he was happy for every one of them. He was biding his time by continuing with his daily routine.
“It'll happen. It'll happen,” Jung said. “You've just got to keep going, keep playing. I'm happy for everybody that gets promoted. You want them to succeed. You want their dreams to come true, to come to fruition, just like yours. You want them to succeed. You want their dreams to come through to fruition just like yours. But it's just one of those things, just keep going and your time will come.”
It’s always a guess as to who would lose their spot on the big club when he gets called up (providing it’s not injury related). But with Brock star getting lead off tonight, you think that’s a sign that they gave him a nod not only because of his time with the Bosox, maybe thinking of giving him a nod before they have to part ways with him to make room for Josh?
Awesome and thanks for the write up. He's one of the really bright spots coming up. I'm hoping an Alex Bregman type impact player!!