The Texas Rangers split a short two-game series against the Oakland Athletics earlier this week. The series started on Tuesday, with the Rangers winning by a final score of 8–7. Then on Wednesday evening, the tables turned as the Athletics took the finale of the series, also by a final score of 8–7. One of the bright spots of the series for the Rangers, is that they got another glimpse of their future in third baseman Josh Jung. He has really given Rangers fans something to look forward to over the next several seasons in Arlington.
Josh Jung’s Potential
Rangers third baseman Josh Jung made his long-awaited major league debut on September 9 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He made an instant impact on the field as he hit a home run in his first career major league at-bat. That is definitely the right way to make a good impression on your new team at this level. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they would take a 4–3 loss that night at the hands of the Blue Jays. In his time with the Rangers, Josh Jung has 28 at-bats. In that stretch, he is hitting .250 with two home runs, four RBI, and one stolen base.
That .250 average translates into a 7-for-28 sample size. While it is a small sample size, it is worth mentioning that Josh Jung is only 24-years old. He is still very young, and it is important to give him time to adjust to the major leagues. He’ll need to make adjustments to not only the game itself, but also the league as well as his new teammates. This is not always the easiest thing to do on the fly. Jung, however, seems to be acclimating nicely. He may be the Rangers’ No. 1 Prospect, but he is still human. Nobody should be expecting a 5-for-5 performance from him every night. That would be unfair. He’s going to make mistakes, and he seems willing to learn from them.
Veteran Leadership
Josh Jung seems like the type of player who could be a strong leader on the field someday. His time will come, but until then he has great examples of veteran leadership to learn from in Corey Seager, and Marcus Semien. These three will share space in the same infield for almost a decade. In that time, they will certainly get to know each other, both on and off the field. Josh Jung will have plenty of opportunities to learn not just from those two, but the rest of the team as well, in that stretch.
In that respect, baseball is just like any other profession. If you’re the new kid in town, it’s in your best interest to learn from all the other people that have lived on the block for an extended period of time. Fans think that Josh Jung will fit in nicely with the Rangers, and they are excited for what the future holds for him. Jung will be up with the Rangers for the remainder of the 2022 season, at the very least. Come spring training of 2023, who knows what will happen. If he keeps this up, Josh Jung could find himself in the starting lineup on Opening Day against the Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field on March 30 next season.
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