Josh

Jung

Jung may have felt disrespected as the Blue Jays intentionally walked Wyatt Langford with two outs in the eighth inning to pitch to him. He then battled Green to a full count before lining a go-ahead RBI single into center field to give the Rangers the lead. Jung then swiped second base, and an errant throw from Alejandro Kirk allowed Langford to score with a valuable insurance run. The oft-injured 27-year-old third baseman finished the night 1-for-4 and is now hitting .281/.328/.456 with seven homers, 20 RBI and four stolen bases through his first 183 plate appearances on the year.

On a night where the rest of the Rangers’ lineup was utterly lost, the White Sox were never able to retire Jung. However, he tried to score from first on Jake Burger’s sixth inning double and was thrown out to end their only sustained rally of the contest. This was the first time this season where Jung drew multiple walks in a game and the first time in his career he’s ever drawn three.

Jung is now 12-for-29 over his last eight games with four home runs and nine RBI. He’s moved up to third in the batting order and seems to be making good on the upside many people were excited for before his wrist injury last season.

Jung has been steadily rising up Rangers manager Bruce Bochy’s lineup card recently as he’s hitting .440 (11-for-25) with four homers and eight RBI over his last seven games. The 27-year-old third baseman got off to a frosty start at the dish, but he’s really heated up in recent weeks. He’ll continue to get opportunities in the middle of the order with Corey Seager (hamstring) on the injured list.

Jung belted a solo home run off Josh Hader with the Rangers trailing in the ninth inning. It’s his fourth home run since Sunday as the 27-year-old third baseman begins to find his power stroke. Jung hit 23 home runs in 122 games and made the All-Star team in 2023. He’s hitting .291 with 18 RBI and an .833 OPS on the year.

Jung opened the scoring before an out had been recorded in the home half of the first inning, crushing a first-pitch fastball from Kyle Freeland for a 396-foot (106.1 mph EV) three-run shot. He added a 392-foot (99.4 mph EV) solo shot off of Zach Agnos in the eighth inning to cap off the scoring in the ballgame. Jung finished the day 3-for-4 and is now hitting .282/.315/.492 with six homers and 16 RBI on the season.

Jung took a fifth-inning pitch from Beau Brieske and hit it 392 feet at 107.4 mph for his fifth home run of the season. He also struck out twice, which has been a bit of an issue for him, and the 27-year-old is just 7-for-35 (.200) so far in May. With Jake Burger rumored to be on his way back to the big leagues, Jung will need to keep hitting to prevent himself from losing some starts to Josh Smith.

Dropped to ninth in the order of late, Jung hasn’t been as bad as that ‘demotion’ would indicate. His power has lagged a bit – this homer was only his third of the season – despite him missing a week with an injury, but he’s barreling the ball better than he ever has in his career and dropped his strikeout rate for what would be the third consecutive season if he keeps it up. He’s a better option than his surface stats, especially in a weak third base landscape.

Jung is back at third base and batting sixth for Monday’s series opener at Globe Life Field following an early exit from Sunday’s showdown against the Giants with a right finger laceration. The fact that he’s already back in the lineup seems to indicate that the Rangers aren’t too concerned, which has to give fantasy managers confidence ahead of weekly lineup locks.

Jung reportedly sustained the injury on a swing in which he shattered his bat, then he appeared to open the wound further while making a bare-handed play in the field. It doesn’t seem like the type of injury that should lead to an extended absence, but with Jung you can never be too sure. Expect the Rangers to provide an update on his status after the game.