There’s just one thing Josh Jung needs to do to be considered great.
- Born: February 12, 1998
- B/T: R/R
- 6’2″, 215-lbs
- Drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 1st round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX)
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by year then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
The former 1st rounder did several things right in his pro debut, including getting on base at a great clip, showing excellent bat control by not striking out much and drawing walks, and even stealing a few bases.
His power did not show up, however, and what did show up of his power was odd, as I will explain below in his spray chart.
Small sample size for facing lefties, but he certainly enjoyed hitting righties.
OK, here’s the deal with Jung. If you don’t see much power (and his ISO didn’t show it), you would expect to see pull power only. But those doubles are mostly to the opposite field! When you get opposite field power, you are normally showing great power. But because those are doubles and not home runs, he’s just not showing enough pop.
He has a quick swing, and he’s reaching the ball early in the swing, and those hits are going the opposite way. He’s just not hitting them far enough yet.
Well, it was a long year for Josh. He played for Texas Tech, got drafted, started pro ball, etc. He faded a bit, as one would understand.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: #113 on their Top 400.
- BaseballHQ: #73 on their Top 100.
- Fangraphs: Not on their Top 120.
- Fantasy Six Pack: #327 on their dynasty list.
- Prospects365: #132 on Ray Butler’s Top 200.
- Imaginary Brick Wall: #121 on the Top 487.
- Fantrax: #70 on the Top 250.
Warnings
Just how much game power can we expect from him? Scouts think he has the potential for 25-30 eventually, but to do that he will have to stop driving the ball to the gaps and start lifting the ball. That would require swing adjustments. You like to see power from a third baseman.
Conclusion
Otherwise he’s top notch. He’s a very polished hitter who will not strike out much, draw walks, get on base, even steal the occasional base, plus play solid defense at 3B.
If he reaches his power potential, he will be very much worth the 1st-round pick.