Detroit Tigers: What to Expect from Jace Jung

The Detroit Tigers have called up Jace Jung

Jace Jung is heading to the Detroit Tigers.

Rogelio broke down the details of both the Jung and Trey Sweeney promotions last night and gave a look at how it affects the big picture. But this piece is a slightly deeper look at Jace Jung and his journey to the big leagues.

We’ve done similar pieces for Wenceel Perez and Justyn-Henry Malloy and Dillon Dingler. And Keider Montero and Brant Hurter. It’s been a busy year for call ups.

We will not be doing a What to Expect piece for Trey Sweeney, because we’ve only seen him in person once since he arrived in Detroit’s system. But you can read his scouting report here. To make room for Jung and Sweeney the Tigers designated Gio Urshela and Easton Lucas for assignment.

But the Jace Jung era is now beginning in Detroit. So let’s learn a little more about him.

Jace Jung’s Background

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Jace Jung was well regarded as a high-school baseball prospect. But he headed to Lubbock to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Josh, who was an All American at Texas Tech before being selected with the 8th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft.

Jace Jung made an immediate impact for the Red Raiders, posting a 1.042 OPS over 19 games as a freshman in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He earned All American accolades of his own, and Big 12 Player of the Year honors after a spectacular 2021 season. He batted .337 with 21 home runs and more walks than strikeouts.

Jung spent that summer between the Cape Cod League and Team USA, and then returned to Texas Tech for a strong third season. His home run totals fell to 14, but he still hit .335 with more walks than strikeouts.

Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America considered him the 9th best prospect in the 2022 draft. The Detroit Tigers selected him 12th overall that year, giving him a full-slot bonus of $4.59 million.

We were on hand in Lansing for Jung’s pro debut, and also in the stands in West Michigan when he hit his first pro home run. But overall his first taste of pro ball was a little underwhelming. Perhaps he was tired from the long season, or still nursing some lingering injuries, but Jung hit just .232 with that lone home run over 30 games.

And he didn’t get off to a particularly strong start in 2023, either. He returned to the West Michigan Whitecaps and batted just .229 with six home runs through his first 40 games.

But when the weather warmed up, so did Jung. He batted .282 with 22 home runs over his final 88 games, and showed no trouble adjusting to Double-A pitching after a late-July call up to Erie. He even won a minor-league Gold Glove for his defense at second base.

So the Detroit Tigers moved him to third. It did make some sense, though, as their top prospect Colt Keith was ticketed for everyday playing time at the keystone for Detroit. Jung first tried the hot corner in the Arizona Fall League, and then manned third on a regular basis this year in Toledo.

His defense has been an issue with the Mud Hens, with 16 errors in 65 games at third base. But he continues to provide strong offense, with a .257 batting average, 14 home runs, and a stellar 16.1% walk rate in Triple-A.

The Tigers have him batting 5th and playing 3rd base for his MLB debut. He’ll become the 22nd member of the 2022 draft to reach the majors.

Jace Jung Scouting Report

As always, we encourage you to check out our full scouting report on Jung. But we’ll give you the quick and dirty version here. Most scouting reports start with Jung’s unusual hand placement and bat angle in his setup. It’s visually odd, and there was some concern it might affect his ability to hit velocity in pro ball. Jung has struggled with velocity, but it’s hard to know if that’s due to his setup.

He doesn’t figure to hit for particularly high averages in the big leagues, and will likely settle in the .220-.240 range. But apart from swinging over the occasional slider below his hands, Jung generally forces pitchers to throw him strikes. He should work plenty of walks. And while Jung doesn’t possess otherworldly pop, he knows how to tap into almost all of his plus raw power. He consistently puts the ball in the air to the pull field.

Jung is a well below-average runner and he isn’t likely to add any value on the basepaths. He was a solid second baseman, but he’s probably a 30-grade defender at third base right now. He has an average arm, but he lacks the ideal sort of quick-twitch athleticism to handle the hot corner.

The Trouble With Jace Jung

You can probably read between the lines in the above scouting report. Jace Jung has done two things very well in his pro career: take walks, and hit home runs. He is one of just four minor-leaguers with 40+ home runs and a walk rate over 14% over the past two seasons. He just doesn’t figure to offer much else on offense.

And Jung’s defense at third base is a serious issue. There are much better ways to judge defenders than fielding percentage. But sometimes we have to use the stats that are available. Miguel Cabrera owned a career .956 fielding percentage at third base in the big leagues. For Nick Castellanos it was .955.

Colt Keith’s fielding percentage at third base in the minors was .931, though he bumped it to .979 in Triple-A. Jake Burger’s .929 fielding percentage is currently the worst among the 37 MLB third basemen with at least 400 innings at the position.

Jace Jung’s fielding percentage at third base is .889. He made 16 errors in 147 chances with the Mud Hens. That doesn’t mean he can’t improve, but he will need to get significantly better just to be the worst third base defender in the big leagues.

And there’s one other thing worth noting. Jace Jung missed about two weeks of game action in late June with wrist soreness. After he returned to Triple-A he hit just .229 with 3 home runs and a .128 ISO over 27 games.

The Verdict

That’s a tough scouting report, but we actually do like Jace Jung! He’s a consensus top-100 prospect, and he’s ranked 4th in our top 31 Tigers prospects list. We’re not crazy about him playing third base, but we think he has enough power and patience to develop into a solid MLB regular in time. He may even grow into an above-average, three-true-outcomes type along the lines of Max Muncy or Kyle Schwarber.

We’re just a little puzzled about him being called up to the Tigers right now, and we think his first taste of the big leagues might be a bit bumpy. But Jace Jung has shown the ability to adjust before, and there’s no better place to learn than at the highest level. Tigers fans will just need to be a little patient with him.