Josh Jung Leads Six Rangers in MLB Top 100 Prospects
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The Texas Rangers had six players listed among the Top 100 prospects, as unveiled on the MLB Network on Thursday.
The Rangers on the list included third baseman Josh Jung, outfielder Evan Carter, pitcher Owen White, infielder Luisangel Acuña, pitcher Jack Leiter and pitcher Brock Porter.
Jung is the only one of the six that has played in the Majors.
Jung was ranked No. 34, which also makes him the Rangers’ No. 1 prospect entering the 2023 season. He is likely to fall of the prospect list shortly after the season begins, as the Rangers expect him to be their Opening Day third baseman.
Jung was expected to be the Opening Day third baseman last April, but an injury nearly ended his 2022 season. He tore a shoulder labrum during spring training, an injury the Rangers expected would cost him the season.
But, Jung progressed faster than expected and was able to speed through the minors before the Rangers called him up on Sept. 9.
Jung played in 26 games for the Rangers and batted .204/.235/.418/.653 (20-for-98) with four doubles, one triple, five home runs and 14 RBI. He walked four times and struck out 39 times.
Carter was ranked No. 41.
Carter was the Rangers’ second-round pick in 2020. He played just 32 games in 2021, but he built on those numbers in 2022.
Overall (also at High Class-A affiliate Hickory), he batted .295/.397/.489/.886 in 106 games (117-for-397), with 86 runs, 21 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home runs and 73 RBI. Carter was named Baseball America’s Rangers Prospect of the Year for 2022.
With Frisco, he batted .429/.536/.714/1.250 with a home runs and six RBI in seven games.
White was No. 66.
White was a second-round pick out of high school in 2018 who missed time due to Tommy John surgery. With Hickory and Frisco in 2022 he went 9-2 with a 3.59 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts). He threw 80 1/3 innings, giving up 70 hits, 33 runs (32 earned), eight home runs and 23 walks. He struck out 104. Batters hit .233 against him and he had a 1.16 WHIP.
He promptly won the Texas League Pitcher of the Week award in his first start with Frisco and finished the regular season 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA in four starts. He ended the regular season with six straight strikeouts for the RoughRiders.
Acuña was No. 71.
Acuña was added to the team’s 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule V Draft. He is also the younger brother of Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña.
Acuña split time between High-Class A Hickory and Double-A Frisco where in 91 combined games he batted .277/.369/.426/.749 (99-for-357) with 66 runs, 152 total bases, 16 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 47 RBI.
Leiter was No. 78.
The Rangers took the son of pitcher Al Leiter No. 2 overall in 2021 and paid him a team-record $7.922 million to leave Vanderbilt and begin his pro career.
In 2022 with Double-A Frisco, Leiter went 3-10 with a 5.54 ERA in 23 games (22 starts). He threw 92 2/3 innings, gave up 88 hits, 69 runs (57 earned), 11 home runs and 56 walks. He struck out 109. Batters hit .246 against him and he had a 1.55 WHIP.
Porter was No. 94. He was the Rangers’ fourth-round pick in 2022 out of St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, MI). Porter was already committed to Clemson to play baseball, but the Rangers made it a priority to get Porter in the system, paying him a fourth-round bonus record of $3.7 million. He’s a two-time Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2022 national Gatorade Player of the Year (he went 9-0 with a 0.41 ERA, 115 strikeouts in 58 innings and three no-hitters in 2022).
Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training to the team’s facility in Surprise, Ariz., on Feb. 15, with position players to follow by Feb. 20.
The Spring Training game schedule starts on Feb. 24 with a game against Kansas City at the Surprise complex shared with the Royals.
The Rangers wrap up their exhibition season with a pair of games at Globe Life Field against the Royals on March 27 and 28. The Rangers open up the regular season at home against Philadelphia on March 30.
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