Josh Jung’s Increased Production Has Come in the Least Likely Times This Season

Jung has been the heart and soul of the Rangers offense.

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Josh Jung is a significant reason the Texas Rangers are just one game behind the NL West lead entering Friday. The Rangers' third baseman has crushed the ball all season and leads the team in a plethora of categories. He's having a career year at the plate, and it's come most often when you'd least expect it: two strikes.

Jung has evolved into one of the best two-strike hitters in the league and drastically improved from last season. Entering Friday, he's batting .337 with two strikes, and smashed four of his five homers while on the verge of striking out. He's also struck out just 26 times through 101 two-strike plate appearances this season.

It's still early in the season, but Jung has stepped up his two-strike approach from last season. Over 355 two-strike plate appearances, he hit .189 with 129 strikeouts. While it doesn't seem he's made a big physical adjustment, Jung attributes the early-season success to his adapted mental approach.

It’s Not a Physical Change That Jung Has Made To Power His Success

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"Taking each pitch and each at-bat, it has a life and history of its own," Jung said to Jared Sandler of Rangers Sports Network. "Even if I do chase, just having my self-talk and a little release to let it go and move on to the next one."

Jung has turned into an elite hitter this season, something the Rangers have been hoping for. He's batting .325/.372/.510 through 40 games and hit 13 doubles.

Not only are his slugging numbers up from previous seasons, but his walk and strikeout rates have also improved. He's walking at a 6.1% clip, up from 5.3% last season. His strikeout percentage is down to 15.9% at this point in the season, a far cry from his 27.9 career strikeout percentage entering this season.

Jung Is Consistently Producing With Two Strikes, a New Trend for the Former First-Round Pick

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When asked what changed from last season to this one, Jung gave a routine-driven response: "It's mainly just being intentional with everything," Jung said. "When it comes to routines, making sure everything's intentional, and I feel like sometimes you just go through the motions a little bit and it's like oh, get back on track, be a little bit more intentional."

The Rangers had high expectations when he was drafted eighth overall out of Texas Tech in the 2019 draft, and it's all coming together more so than in years past. He's yet to go on a homer spree, but he's been a doubles machine. He's tied for third in MLB with 13 doubles and eighth in the American League in slugging percentage.

Jung will have a perfect opportunity to continue his tear this weekend against the rival Houston Astros. The Astros boast an MLB worst 5.59 ERA, and have walked the most batters in baseball by a wide margin.