The Sunday Read: Rangers counting on rookie Josh Jung to be a cog in lineup
April 2, 2023
(AP photo/Sam Hodde)
ARLINGTON — The moment Thursday wasn’t lost on Josh Jung.
It wasn’t so much his first Opening Day start, not just in the majors but since turning pro, but the fact that he wasn’t recovering from surgery.
“It’s truly amazing,” he said. “I made it through spring training healthy.”
That was all he needed to do to become the Rangers’ fifth different Opening Day third baseman in the five seasons since Adrian Beltre retired.
Here’s guessing Jung has some staying power.
I have high hopes for him, but I saw way too many swings and misses. He should have 1 more walk and a few more hits, but I fear they have turned a Freddie Freeman/Xander Bogaerts type into a Joey Gallo type. I usually prefer OPS to batting average types like Eligs Andrus, but OPs requires getting some hits. He had elite BB/K rates in college and was alright in thr minors, but they seem to have told him to go for the fences. I don’t like it, but it’s too early to judge. Maybe, he becomes a Jose Bautista type, or maybe he is a failure.