SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jace Jung can be seen donning a Tigers jersey during the Arizona Fall League, but he admits that he is rooting for the Rangers to make a deep run into the playoffs.
His brother, Josh, is not only the star third baseman for the Rangers, but he is also a Rookie of the Year Award candidate. Josh’s talent was on display in Game 2 as his three extra-base hits tied the rookie record for most extra-base hits in a postseason game.
Seeing Josh have success in the playoffs adds more motivation for Jace, MLB’s No. 67 prospect per Pipeline, to grind it out in AFL and lift the Tigers, who have not made the playoffs since 2014, to similar, if not better, heights.
“I want to get [to the Majors] as soon as possible,” Jung said after the Rafters’ 8-5 win over the Saguaros. “Everybody does. I think that’s why we’re all here, to get to the big leagues. It would be cool to play against Josh.”
The Jung name could be a household name in the MLB for years to come, but Jace wants to carve out his legacy. He turned 23 on Wednesday, but besides having dinner by himself, there wasn’t much celebrating for him. Jung was focused on enhancing his skills, and it paid off.
In his first at-bat on Thursday night, Jung hit a soft single to center field to bring home two runners. It was his first AFL hit, which Jung said was something he had looked forward to since the beginning of the short season.
“It was nice,” Jung said. “To get that monkey off your back and get that first hit out of the way is huge. You need the first one, and then you can start rolling, trying to get in a groove, start hitting the ball as hard gap-to-gap and just try to compete pitch-to-pitch.
Jung was drafted by the Tigers in the first round of the 2022 draft. He signed for a $4,590,300 bonus, the full slot value of the 12th overall selection. The left-handed batter made an impact at Texas Tech in his freshman year by winning the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year Award.
In his first full season of professional baseball, Jung showed a promising glimpse of what the Tigers can expect to see when he arrives in Detroit. Jung slashed .265/.376/.502 and slugged 28 home runs and 82 RBIs. He admits that there is still plenty to work on before then, and the AFL presents a great opportunity for him.
“It’s very relaxing,” Jung said. “There’s no pressure or anything like that. We’re trying to go out there and compete, try to get wins and make the playoffs.”
Jung has an established offense, but the biggest question for him coming out of college was his defense. Jung primarily played second base in college and through two seasons in the minors, but will be working at third base through the fall. He made a nice backhanded catch on a ball that registered at 95.7 mph, before making a strong throw to record the final out of the second inning.
“Just trying to get better at that,” Jung said. “[I want] have more options to get up there faster.”
Keshawn Ogans (ATL) finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs on a warm Thursday night at Salt River Fields. After going hitless in his AFL debut on Tuesday, the 22-year-old has had back-to-back multihit games.
“I’m blessed,” said Ogans. “A lot of guys wish they could be in this spot. I’m taking every opportunity to see what I could do and take from it and go from there.”