Top prospect Jung praises Rangers' alt camp

Rangers infielder Josh Jung was teammates with pitchers Cole Winn and Ricky Vanasco at Class A Hickory last summer, helping lead the Crawdads to the South Atlantic League finals.

This summer, the trio developed an intense competition amid the solitude at the Rangers' alternate training site, trying to get the most out of simulated games played in empty ballparks.

“It was just a mutual respect thing,” Jung said. “I am trying to beat you every time. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care if we are friends, I’m going to try and beat you. I think that mentality got reciprocated for sure. Pitcher could be just trying to get through the inning, and I step in the box and it turned into a fight.”

This was not how Jung was supposed to spend the summer, not after being the Rangers' first-round Draft pick out of Texas Tech in 2019, and becoming their No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

Jung should have been playing at Class A Advanced Down East or possibly Double-A Frisco, the next steps toward fulfilling his dream of playing in the Major Leagues. Instead, he was assigned to alternate camp, held at Globe Life Field when the big league team was on the road and at old Globe Life Park across the street when they were home.

Jung counted himself lucky. The Rangers were allowed a 60-man player pool, while those who weren't included got sent home with the Minor League season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You see that, and you say, 'If I’m dogging it today, that’s just a lack of respect for those guys,'” Jung said. “Because those guys wish they were in your shoes. You have to give it your all every day. You can’t have those days where you come in lackadaisical.”

Jung had been there since Summer Camp, but the Rangers did not call him up to the Major Leagues. They were reluctant to give up a 40-man roster spot to a player who did not need to be protected this winter from the Rule 5 Draft.

Jung still said it was a great experience, getting to work with Minor League hitting coaches Cody Atkinson, Josue Perez and Brad Flanders, as well as infield coordinator Kenny Holmberg. Texas measured its hitters every day in different categories -- i.e. strike zone recognition, quality of at-bats -- and Jung was regularly finishing near the top.

“Josh has a very high ceiling and high floor and the chance to be an everyday infielder and key cog in the middle of a championship-level lineup,” Rangers director of Minor League operations Paul Kruger said. “Josh has consistently given some of the best at-bats in alternate-site camp and continues to show a mix of above-average power and plus approach at the plate.

“He continues to put in the work defensively at [multiple] infield positions, and the footwork and agility work done with our strength staff and Kenny Holmberg has helped him continue to improve on his first steps and angles defensively. This has helped turn him into a good defender at all positions in the infield.”

The Rangers hosted intrasquad games, and there was plenty of extra work available for anybody who needed it. Jung is primarily a third baseman, but he worked at the other infield positions to increase his versatility. Jung said that physically and mentally he is far beyond where he was in college and that the experience was possibly even better than playing in Minor League games.

“I know that’s crazy to say, but in these times, how often do you get to just train for three months at your big league stadium and getting to understand all that while you’re in the Minor Leagues?” Jung said. “Like that never happens. Being in Arlington, training with the big league staff, having our coordinator on us every day, I feel like it was more valuable in my career than going out playing games.”

The Rangers sent Jung home early from alternate camp. The San Antonio native now has a house in Lubbock, Texas, and is staying there for a couple weeks until it’s time to go to instructional league in Arizona at the end of the month. The plan there is for Jung to get into as many games as possible and to start applying what he learned this summer.

“Going to Arlington, that was just a blast,” Jung said. “Get to be there for three months, learning from those guys, seeing how they play, seeing how everything operates, how everything is run and just being a part of that camp was just unbelievable and a great experience.”