Rangers Future: Rookie Josh Jung Defines 'Success'

There is no doubt the Texas Rangers see Josh Jung as their third baseman of not just the next few weeks but of the foreseeable future.

But for the next few weeks, what are Jung’s expectations? What is success to him?

His definition doesn’t come with hard numbers, if that was your expectation.

“Just stay true to who I am, to just be me,” Jung said Thursday. “Find my routines and no matter what happens, just stay positive and be a good teammate.”

In other words, fit in — just like any other rookie this season, including Josh Smith, also called up on Thursday, and Ezequiel Duran, who will likely see reduced playing time with Jung in Arlington.

But the spotlight will be much brighter on Jung, who is the Rangers’ No. 1 prospect and former first-round pick. Injuries last season and the torn labrum that delayed this season kept Jung from making his debut earlier than Friday against Toronto.

If he manages to put up the kind of numbers he put up at the Arizona Complex League and at Triple-A Round Rock, the Rangers will likely look at this late call-up as a success, at least in terms of laying the groundwork for 2023.

On July 28, the Rangers sent Jung to their Arizona Complex League team for some rehab at-bats. He quickly went from just being a DH to playing third and hit .240 with three home runs and five RBI in eight games and 25 at-bats. That was enough to get the Rangers to send him to Triple-A Round Rock, where Jung hit .348 with nine home runs and 21 RBI last season.

He joined the Express on Aug. 9 and started hitting tape-measure home runs with regularity. He finished with a .273 average, six home runs and 24 RBI. He hit five home runs in his first eight games and started teasing Rangers fans with an early call-up.

Jung’s numbers tailed off a bit during his final few games at Round Rock. But he was encouraged by his final swings with the Express against Sugar Land and hopes to carry that over into his Major League debut.

“Just trying to be as consistent as I can be is fine,” Jung said. “My routine is fine. It leads me to just being ready to play.”

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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