This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CINCINNATI -- Josh Jung hasn’t been at the forefront of the early American League Rookie of the Year conversation this season, but maybe he should be. Anthony Volpe and Gunnar Henderson -- two top 10 prospects, per MLB Pipeline -- dominated the conversation in Spring Training, but Jung has done more than enough to put himself in position to be considered. 

Lost in Monday’s series opener against the Reds was Jung’s two-homer game that should have been the story of the day had the Rangers not fallen, 7-6, on a walk-off. It was the second two-homer game of his career, the first coming Sept. 27, 2022, when he went yard twice against the Mariners in Seattle.

It was the latest example why the rookie should be in the national conversation. In 22 games this season, Jung has slashed  .281/.326/.494 with a 127 OPS+. Entering Wednesday, he leads qualified AL rookies in hits (25), home runs (5), runs scored (15), total bases (44) and extra-base hits (9), ranks second in OPS (.820) and slugging and fourth in batting average.

He reached base in 18 of the 21 games he’s played this season, batting in the heart of the lineup each time (fourth once, and fifth 20 times).  

“I think you should be asking what I don’t like about his play,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “He has played great, great baseball. He’s been a lot of fun to watch. I knew he was a really good talent when I got here. If you look at what he's done right now, it’s maybe right to say he’s exceeded my expectations. You hate saying it, it's like selling this kid short. But he's gonna be a really, really good player. Great player. I think this is just the beginning.”

Bochy added that because Jung missed so much time with injury, he wasn’t entirely sure how the third baseman would fully adjust on both sides of the field. 

For Jung, being fully healthy was the biggest difference in becoming the player he knew he could be at this level.

“I guess really it was just getting healthy,” he said. “That was the biggest thing, just making sure that the body is healthy. It’s like so much more of my focus is now on preparation to play the game, instead of prepping my shoulder to get ready to play the game. I think that plays a big difference. ... More time to do homework, more time in the cage, less time in the training room getting the shoulder stuff right. It’s a relief.”

From the outside, Jung just looks way more comfortable in every aspect of the game than he did in his 26-game cup of coffee at the end of last season. And he feels it too. 

He knows big league pitchers will make an adjustment to him eventually. He knows he’ll have to make his own adjustments to those adjustments. But he's confident in his ability to mentally handle the challenges that the big leagues bring him. 

“It's a chess game and it always is going to be a chess game,” Jung said. “But it’s about who doesn't overthink their opponent, almost because you can really get into the nitty gritty and start overthinking this game and make it way more complicated than it is. You can also go up there and just be like, ‘You know what? I'm going to take the balls and hit the strikes and see if it works out in my favor.’ So it's that simple sometimes.”

On the other side of the ball, neither defensive metric seems to favor Jung at third base. He has -2 defensive runs saved (17th among qualified third baseman) and -1 outs above average (22nd). 

But by the eye test, Jung has been steady. He’s got just two errors in 194 innings, good for a .964 fielding percentage (seventh among qualified AL third basemen). Bochy has praised Jung’s defensive work in Spring Training and into the season as he’s worked to improve what was perceived as the weakest part of his game. 

Both Bochy and infield coordination/third base coach Tony Beasley feel more than pleased with his defensive development. 

“I went back to watch games, and I thought he looked good at third, but he's even better over there,” Bochy said. “Not that I didn't think he was good at third base, but he’s been really good. His range is even better than I thought, both the backhand and forehand. Coming in on the ball, he’s really good.” 

So about that Rookie of the Year conversation? 

“No, I’m not really thinking about it,” Jung said with a chuckle. “I'm just trying to help the team win the best I can and truly hold my spot in the lineup down.”