Emergence of Young Detroit Tigers Infield Would Help Boost Team’s Offense Immensely
In this story:
One of the areas of their roster that the Detroit Tigers were looking to upgrade this offseason was third base.
The team aggressively pursued Alex Bregman all winter, hoping to reunite him with his former Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be as he signed a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.
Adding Bregman would have provided the Tigers with a lot of what they are missing. He offers legitimate pop, something the team is lacking, and is a Gold Glove defender at the hot corner on top of the leadership and championship experience he possesses.
While it was disappointing to miss out on him, Detroit isn’t without options to turn to.
The versatile Matt Vierling is going to get some playing time at third base, but a chunk of the starts are likely to go to Jace Jung.
A first-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft, No. 12 overall, he moved through the team’s minor league system rapidly. He was a full-time member of the Triple-A Toledo team in only his second full year as a professional.
Jung made enough of an impression there to get the call up to the Major Leagues, making his debut on Aug. 16.
His first chance at the Big League level wasn’t overly productive with a .241/.362/.304 slash line, not hitting a single home run in 94 plate appearances.
There isn’t any reason to write him off yet, as he was productive at the plate in Triple-A. In 91 games, he hit 14 home runs and 23 doubles with 60 RBI to earn the promotion.
The upside is there, but until he showcases it with any consistency at the Major League level, it isn’t all too surprising he is ranked in the bottom third of the starters at the hot corner by Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report.
The baseball writer put Jung at No. 20 as he looks to earn his spot in the everyday lineup with the Tigers.
While a lot of focus will be on his bat, as the team’s offense could certainly use a spark, where he needs to show the most improvement if he wants to be in the lineup every day is with his defense.
Jung had a dWAR of -0.6 last year, playing well below the level of a replacement player. His total zone and RDS defensive numbers were not pretty, with all of them being at least -5.
A fielding percentage of .917 leaves a lot to be desired, as the league average is .961. Jung made four errors with 48 defensive chances in 190 innings, as he needs to clean things up defensively.
If he doesn’t show improvements in his game over the first few months of the season, the Detroit front office could look for an upgrade on the trade market depending on how the campaign is going.
Recommended Articles
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.