When the Texas Rangers decided to draft third baseman Josh Jung with the eighth pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, fans were thrilled to have him in the organization. Jung was one of the most sought-after position players in the draft after a phenomenal collegiate career. He finished his time at Texas Tech with an astounding .343/.474/.636 line and smashed 15 homers through the final 64 games of his collegiate career.
While fans loved to have Jung, his troubled injury history quickly became concerning. He missed a substantial amount of his college career due to a multitude of injuries. Fans and media quickly began to worry that Jung’s knack for being on the injured list would carry over to his professional career.
Unfortunately, ever since the 2018 Draft, it would appear that fans’ concerns about Jung were justified. He has had an ample amount of injuries and has been on and off the IL since joining the Rangers organization. The latest example of Jung being dealt a lousy hand in regards to injury came this past season, which happened to be his sophomore season with the Rangers. After a dominant start to the year, where he crushed two homers and carried a .412 average through four games, his season came to a screeching halt after a hit-by-pitch fractured his wrist, causing him to miss a large chunk of the season.
Josh Jung was hit by a pitch earlier in today’s game and exited.
He suffered a fractured wrist, per Bruce Bochy. pic.twitter.com/SZ6D4Vgo9v
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 2, 2024
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Should Rangers Fans Be Concerned About Josh Jung?
Jung’s most recent stint on the IL is only one of several prolonged stints of him missing time while with the Rangers. During his rookie season, he missed the final two months of the regular season due to a fractured thumb. He also missed all of spring training in 2024 due to a multitude of lingering injuries he was still dealing with from the Rangers’ World Series run.
Although Jung has missed substantial portions of his professional career so far, his play on the field remains outstanding. While healthy, he has been one of the most consistent members of the Rangers lineup. He is currently carrying a solid .257/.301/450 line, along with 35 homers through a total of 194 games. Jung’s solid performance on the field makes it even harder to watch his career being constantly setback by a myriad of injuries.
While Jung who is only 26 years old prepares for his third full season with the Rangers, it is justifiable for fans, along with the organization, to worry about whether or not Jung’s body can sustain a prolonged career as a professional third baseman. At the moment, the Rangers have shown no indication that their faith in Jung is lingering, as they have put little to no effort into finding a substantial backup for Jung. However, Jung’s multiple lengthy stints on the IR raise the question of how long the Rangers organization will be able to tolerate Jung’s knack for being on the IR before they begin to look for other options at third base.
The Last Word
It is disappointing to see a player as talented as Josh Jung hit by the injury bug so many times during his young career. Hopefully, he will get past the disappointing start to his career and become the franchise player he has shown flashes of throughout the first two years of his career.
Photo Credit: © Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
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