Rangers' Top Prospect Jung Reveals Big-League Dream
Josh Jung's path to the major leagues in a clear one. The Rangers need a third baseman. Jung plays third base.
Seems simple enough.
Whether or not Jung makes the Opening Day roster has yet to be chiseled in stone. However, Rangers manager Chris Woodward made it clear earlier this week that it was very unlikely that Jung would make the trip back to Arlington with the big league squad.
"I don't want to say it out loud, like, what it would take for that to happen," Woodward said on Sunday. "No. I would say probably not.
"I would obviously love to have him on our team at some point. He's gotta earn that. But if he does everything we anticipate, there's a good chance he might be with us at some point. He has to earn that."
So, how does Josh Jung earn a spot on the major league roster? When does that happen?
It's difficult to define what kind of culture the Rangers are trying to create. However, it's clear that competition and work ethic are critical. I had a chance to ask Chris Woodward if Josh Jung personifies that type of culture.
"Obviously this guy has never played a game in the major leagues," Woodward responded. "Just from an attitude [standpoint], who he is as a person, his behavior, everything, he resembles exactly what we're looking for."
In our first opportunity to talk with Josh Jung this spring, he exuded the embodiment of that culture. It's easy to see how much Jung loves baseball. It's now even more evident how much care and dedication he puts into becoming the best player he can be.
Coming out of college, Jung was praised for his bat-to-ball skills and his ability to drive the ball the other way. After working at the alternate training site and instructs last year, Jung worked on his timing and approach, tapping more into his raw power, and pulling the ball to left field.
"I feel like in college, the way I got pitched was like everything was going to be away or offspeed," Jung told the media via Zoom. "I had to really stay through the baseball, and that's just where a lot of hits went. But now getting into pro ball with a wood bat, people are gonna start coming in under your hands. They're gonna try to break your bat. It's been more of an adjustment on my approach moreso than just pulling the baseball. I feel like I'm in a good spot with it."
While I was pleased to sit there and listen to how he's refined his game since he was selected eighth overall in the 2019 MLB Draft, what really revealed a lot about Jung is his ability to focus on long-term goals.
It's easy for a 23-year-old kid to come into his first big league camp and be overwhelmed. Jung hasn't played above Class A, much less played a full professional season yet.
With the major leagues on the horizon in 2021, I wanted to ask how he's able to take in the excitement of his first big league camp, yet remain focused on achieving his goals.
Here is his full response:
"Yeah, I had a conversation with my parents after I found out I was coming. I was like, 'Wow, this is something that I've dreamed about since I was a little kid. ... This is kind of the opportunity I've been waiting for my entire life.' So coming out here, I was super nervous, like, 'Man, this is something I've always dreamed about.' But to stay focused, I'm more of a long-term goal person. I do have short term goals, but those change all the time, depending on the situation, where I'm at, and how I feel. So it's basically staying focused on those long-term goals that I have set for myself, and that being my driving force of being trying to be perfect, even though perfection is probably never going to ever happen. But stretching for it, that's how I stay focused every day. And I know that every day I can get a little bit better. Something that Woody talks about all the time is you're not going to stay in the same spot. You're either getting better or getting worse. So how, everyday, can I get better? Because with baseball, you have to make small adjustments all the time — on your swing, defensively —so, being able to realize when I need to make those changes, and how quickly can I make those changes in my daily work, in my routines, pitch to pitch, at-bat to at-bat, stuff like that."
One of those goals Jung spoke of is obviously getting the call to the big leagues. Even though the likelihood of making the Opening Day roster is slim-to-none, it hasn't deterred Jung from that mindset.
"To say it's not one of my goals would be wrong," Jung said. "I would love to start Opening Day on the roster."
That is the embodiment of the culture Chris Woodward and the Rangers are trying to establish. On Monday, Woodward went into the way he plans to handle the prospects in camp who won't make the Opening Day roster.
"The message is: you come in and show us what you can do, regardless of whether you have a chance to make the team," Woodward said. "It's not just about Opening Day and making the roster. We plan on you playing for 10-15 years in this organization. If that's the case, why are you stressing about making the Opening Day roster?"
Of course Jung wants to make the Opening Day roster, but that doesn't mean it's a failure if he starts at Triple-A Round Rock. Jung is a huge part of the Rangers' future. The Rangers don't need him to be ready on Opening Day. The most important thing is he understands that. After all, he's a player who is laser-focused on the long-term.
"I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be in this position as as a start," Jung said. "I know that's kind of the cliché answer. But having this opportunity, being able to go out everyday and try to prove myself, it's motivation in itself to go out there and to play the best baseball I can."
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Chris Halicke covers the Texas Rangers for InsideTheRangers.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisHalicke.
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