As the Texas Rangers keep an eye to the future, it is expected that several of their prospects will see time in the majors this season. One of those players expected to receive that call is Josh Jung, the Rangers’ top prospect. However, given that he has just 44 games of minor league experience, he was likely to start the season in Triple-A.
His timeline for 2021 may need to be adjusted. Jung is set to undergo surgery on a stress fracture in his foot, and will be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
Josh Jung has a stress fracture in is left foot. He will return to Dallas, have surgery to put a screw in his foot, and will miss probably 6-8 weeks.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) March 20, 2021
This is your dose of unfortunate Rangers news for this afternoon.
Josh Jung should still be a part of the Texas Rangers in 2021
Although this will set Jung back a bit, he should still be a part of the Texas Rangers roster in 2021. Rougned Odor is currently slated to be the Rangers’ third baseman come Opening Day, but he has not produced at even a league average rate since 2016. At this point, there is little reason to hope for improvement.
Jung’s biggest competition for the hot corner may be another prospect. Sherten Apostel received a brief look in the majors last year, but was quite underwhelming with in his brief time. He notched two hits in his 21 plate appearances, drawing a walk and striking out nine times. Apostel is likely to begin the season in the minors as well.
While Apostel theoretically stands as Jung’s biggest roadblock to the majors, that may not be the case. Apostel can also play first base, where Ronald Guzman does not exactly have a stranglehold on the position. If both youngsters perform well in the minors, there could be room for each player at the major league level.
Nonetheless, this is a disappointing setback for the Rangers. Jung had performed well in the minors in 2019, posting a .831 OPS with 14 doubles and two homers in 198 plate appearances. The power is expected to develop as time goes on, making Jung a premier prospect in the minds of evaluators.
Josh Jung was expected to make his debut with the Texas Rangers this season. While that may still happen, his time will be pushed back.