Josh Smith Calls Josh Jung 'Complete Hitter'

Smith, a fellow rookie, will be on the field with the Rangers' No. 1 prospect when they face Toronto on Friday.

ARLINGTON, Texas — How good is Josh Jung, the Texas Rangers’ No. 1 prospect who will make his debut on Friday night?

He’s so good that fellow rookie Josh Smith — who was called up on Thursday to re-join the team — wasn’t surprised at all when Jung joined Triple-A Round Rock last month and caught a hot streak six months after having surgery to repair a torn labrum on his non-throwing shoulder.

“He’s just the complete hitter,” Smith said on Friday. “Hit strikes, has discipline, hits for average, hits for power. Josh Jung is one of the best I’ve seen.”

Smith said the only two hitters that he’s played with who come close to Jung are two players that are in the Rangers system right now — infielder Blaine Crim, who is with Double-A Frisco, and Ezequiel Duran, who was just sent to Triple-A.

But Smith said he’s known how special Jung was from the first time he saw him play last year after he joined the organization as part of the Joey Gallo trade.

“This is one of the best minor league hitters I’ve ever played with,” Smith said. “He’s gonna come up here and he’s going to do the same things he’s been doing and have a great attitude. He has a great work ethic. He’s an amazing teammate. I’m excited for him. I know Texas Rangers fans are excited. He’s here and I think he’s going to be a really special player.”

Jung, who talked to the media on Thursday, is just trying to keep things low-key as he adjusts to the Major Leagues. He’s even deleted his Twitter — for now.

“Just stay true to who I am, to just be me,” Jung said on Thursday. “Find my routines and no matter what happens just stay positive and be a good teammate.”

Smith will start in left field on Friday, but the spotlight will be much brighter on Jung. Injuries last season and the torn labrum that delayed this season kept Jung from making his debut earlier than Friday against Toronto.

On July 28, the Rangers sent Jung to their Arizona Complex League team for some rehab at-bats. He quickly went from just being a DH to playing third and hit .240 with three home runs and 5 RBI in eight games and 25 at-bats. That was enough to get the Rangers to send him to Triple-A Round Rock, where Jung hit .348 with nine home runs and 21 RBI last season.

He joined the Express on Aug. 9 and started hitting tape-measure home runs with regularity. He finished with a .273 average, six home runs and 24 RBI. He hit five home runs in his first eight games and started teasing Rangers fans with an early call-up.

Since making his professional debut at the end of 2019, Jung has slashed .311/.381/.538/.919 (187-for-602) with 30 home runs, 43 doubles, and 118 RBI over 153 career games in the minor leagues, including batting .308/.377/.577/.954 in 109 games across the last 2 seasons.

Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Jung ranks among all minor league batters (minimum of 400 plate appearances) in slugging percentage (11th, .577) and OPS (14th, .954), leading Texas minor leaguers in those categories over that span.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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