No One Could Have Guessed Rangers MVP Through One-Third of Season

The Texas Rangers had several players that could have been their MVP after one-third of the season. But this one is quite the surprise.

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Think back to March at the start of the season. Most Texas Rangers fans would have picked shortstop Corey Seager as the team’s MVP.

One-third of the way through the season Seager is not only on the injured list but in a slump and batting below .200.

New outfielder Brandon Nimmo would have been a good choice and he’s off to a solid start with his new team. But he wouldn’t have been the right pick either.

No, the Rangers’ MVP through the first third of the season is a player that some were close to giving up on but has emerged as the team’s best hitter and most likely All-Star entering this weekend’s homestand with Cleveland.

The Rangers’ Early MVP

All-Star level approach. #AllForTX

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— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) June 4, 2026

With hindsight, it’s easy to choose third baseman Josh Jung. But, before the season, there were plenty of unanswered questions about the former first-round pick.

In spring training, he was dealing with an adductor strain that put his return for opening day in danger. After a solid rookie campaign, injuries and inconsistency led to a downturn in performance, to the point where the Rangers optioned him to Triple-A Round Rock last July to give him to work through his issues.

He knew the pressure was on. In spring training, he said his focus was on the process and not the results. The belief was that if he stuck to the process the results would follow. So, naturally, he didn’t have a hit in March.

He’s more than made up for it since then. After Wednesday’s game with St. Louis, he was slashing .307/.363/.477 with seven home runs and 28 RBI. He was named the Rangers’ player of the month for April by the media that covers the team and if Houston’s Yordan Alvarez wasn’t in the American League he might have been the AL player of the month for April, too.

But it’s more than just his numbers. For those that watch closely, his approach has changed. Last season he was dangerously close to becoming a three-outcome hitter. This season he’s stuck to the process and is hitting to all fields. He’s far less likely to pull the ball and more likely to use the alleys for extra-base hits. Given how Globe Life Field is gobbling up would-be home runs, it’s a better approach. It’s not insignificant that Jung is the team’s best hitter at home, too.

The hope was that Jung would grow into this one day. Now it’s arrived. It just wasn’t as expected given his last two seasons. But he’s the clear choice to be the Rangers’ MVP after the first-third of the season. The Rangers would be nowhere without him.