Top Prospect Josh Jung Poses Problem for Rangers

With Texas looking to 2023, it's time for the team whether to call up the organization's No. 1 farmhand.

The Texas Rangers have a Josh Jung problem — and for once it’s actually a good problem.

The oft-injured first-round pick from 2019 wasn’t sure if he would even play this season, thanks to a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder that required surgery during spring training. Now, he’s destroying Triple-A pitching at a rate so alarming that it requires the Rangers to answer a question:

Does Texas call him up this season or wait until 2023?

Naturally, the temptation is to do it now. The Rangers season is basically done. By firing manager Chris Woodward and team president of baseball operations Jon Daniels, Texas has signaled to everyone that it is on to 2023.

Jung’s numbers almost require it. He’s batting .333/.405/.773/1.178 with eight home runs and 22 RBI in 18 games at the Arizona Complex League and with the Round Rock Express. He’s blasting home runs as if he didn’t have surgery six months ago. It all leads one to believe that had he not gotten hurt he would already be in Arlington.

The Texas Tech product is in his fourth minor league season. Aside from the COVID-19 wiping out of 2020 minor league baseball, Jung has also missed part of his 2021 season with a stress fracture in his foot. At 24, it’s fair for the Rangers to decide to see what they have in their No. 1 prospect. The clock is also ticking on the potential for a Rule 5 Draft in the offseason. That’s important because if Jung isn’t on the 40-man roster, he could be exposed to other teams.

The Rangers are unlikely to let that happen and they could easily put him on the 40-man after the season ends if they don’t call him up. But the Rangers, oddly enough, have an opening on their 40-man roster now, even with calling up outfielder Kole Calhoun from Triple-A and sending Josh Smith down to Triple-A on Sunday.

Then there’s the service time argument. Do the Rangers want to start that clock now or wait until next season? Controllable years for players with Jung’s potential have always been something the Rangers have valued.

If Texas decides to call him up, they can make it a bit easier on Jung. They could simply move him into the designated hitter spot for the rest of the season as he works on his fielding at third base. That would allow the Rangers to continue working Ezequiel Duran at third base.

But it might be worth it. If the next several weeks are about building momentum for 2023 and the Rangers believe Jung will be a part of that, getting him 100 or so Major League at bats gives him the same kind of jump-start the Rangers gave general manager Chris Young this week, albeit with much less drama.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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