Rangers Have Stealthy Josh Jung Replacement Preparing for Minor League Debut

The Texas Rangers have Josh Jung under team control through 2028. After that, this young rising star could take the baton.

The Texas Rangers logo painted on the turf behind home plate at Globe Life Field. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have three more years of team control over third baseman Josh Jung. But they want to see him bounce back from a sub-par 2025.

Jung slashed .251/.294/.390 with a .684 OPS, along with 14 home runs and 61 RBI. He was healthy the whole season, but he was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock for a swing reset in July. While his numbers improved, Texas has concerns about Jung, whose OPS has dropped in each of his last two seasons, as has is overall batting average.

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The Rangers didn’t explore a replacement. They want to get Jung moving in the right direction. With a player of his talent, who can’t be a free agent until after 2028, it’s a bet the Rangers are hoping to win.

But what if he can’t bounce back? Or his injury problems persist? Texas will need an alternative at some point. Turns out the Rangers may have one on the farm in Jack Wheeler.

Rangers Prospect Jack Wheeler

A Texas Rangers hat sits on top of a baseball glove at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

One can be excused for not knowing who Wheeler is. He was the Rangers’ sixth-round pick last July out of Morris High School in Morris, Ill. He was a two-sport star at Morris and a two-way player on the baseball team. In the pros, however, he’s expected to focus on being a third baseman.

Baseball America (subscription required) listed him as a breakout candidate in the organization for 2026. He is not among the Rangers’ Top 30 prospects, and he hasn’t taken a professional at-bat yet. But the Rangers liked what they saw in his time at Morris. Texas paid him an over-slot $520,000 bonus to de-commit from Illinois, where he was expected to play college baseball.

So, why commit more than half a million dollars to a player in the sixth round? Baseball America analyst Josh Norris indicated that the 19-year-old has a ton of raw materials that interest scouts, especially at the plate.

“His natural strength and loose swing help him generate premier raw power that should be more than enough to profile at his position,” Norris wrote.

Wheeler did play in the instructional league in Arizona, but none of those at-bats were official. Baseball America reported that he had trouble making good contact on pitches with spin, which is common for prep players that go straight to professional baseball. Wheeler’s development will require patience by the Rangers. But he has the chance to be a “prototype hitter” for the position.

For now, he’ll head to minor league spring training in Surprise, Ariz., and take his first official swings in the Arizona Complex League. If there’s a goal this season, it’s for Wheeler to get to Class-A Hickory. If there is a goal for 2029 it’s to be positioned to help Texas if its moved on from Jung.