Minor League Baseball

Detroit Tigers Top Prospect Cracks First Home Run of Minor League Season

After failing to make the major league roster out of spring training, infielder Jace Jung wasted no time getting going for Triple-A Toledo.
Brady Farkas|
Detroit Tigers third base Jace Jung (17) celebrates after scoring a run against the New York Yankees in the fourth inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Feb. 23.
Detroit Tigers third base Jace Jung (17) celebrates after scoring a run against the New York Yankees in the fourth inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Feb. 23. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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Detroit Tigers

After failing to make the major league roster out of spring training, Detroit Tigers top prospect Jace Jung wasted no time getting going at Triple-A Toledo on Friday night.

Jung went 1-for-4 from the No. 3 spot in the order, cracking the first home run of the minor league season with this blast to left field.

The Mud Hens lost 8-5 against the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.

Jung is the No. 7 prospect in the organization, per the latest rankings from MLB Pipeline.

The 24-year-old is a former first-round pick of the Tigers (2022), who made his major league debut last season. In 34 games, he hit .241 with no home runs and three RBIs. He fared better at the minor league level, hitting .258 with 15 homers and 63 RBIs. He had surgery on his wrist in the offseason.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Jung’s batting stance is enjoyable to watch with his hands held high and bat pointed backwards. The left-handed slugger doesn’t chase often, leading to healthy walk rates, and he’s proven capable of elevating hard-hit balls for extra-base knocks. He continues to specialize in pulled balls on the inner half, but he can adjust enough to shoot pitches the other way.

Jung was joined in the lineup on Friday by top infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee, who went 0-for-3.

The Mud Hens and Clippers will play again on Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.

The Tigers will play the Los Angeles Dodgers at the major league level.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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