On Thursday, MLB dot com released its most recent update for its top prospect lists. For the Detroit Tigers, it was a nice midseason refresh for the team’s top-30 list. With new draftees and a summer of performances to reflect on, there was a new list created.
There are plenty of those on the rise, those who fell, and some new faces for the Detroit Tigers. One of the big names who joins the list is Jace Jung. The Tigers selected the Texas Tech University standout hitter as the 12th overall hitter in the 2022 MLB First-Year Amateur Player Draft.
With the new list, Jung comes in at number two. He is behind only Jackson Jobe, the third overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. The prep arm has the makings of a future star and is the no.41 prospect in the league overall. Jung comes in at number two in his debut on a prospect list.
He’s also on the top-100 list, ranked 74th overall in the league after being selected in the mid-summer draft. Jung, the bat-first option, is expected to see his bat do the talking. He should have the opportunity to keep moving through the organization’s affiliate levels as he keeps boosting his offense.
Detroit Tigers draftee Jace Jung enters the list as the no.2 prospect.
Jung may even beat out Jobe for the top spot by the end of the season, but he starts out as the second-best prospect in the organization according to MLB dot com’s list. The Tigers are looking to see a lot from Jung; while Al Avila may be gone, the remnants of his work will still be here, and Jung is one of the players that will always be dubbed part of the Avila era.
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There are reasons to be excited about Jung and reasons for concern, but his early performance has shown that he’s going to keep getting better and keep hitter. After all, he was brought in for his abilities in the batters’ box, the tools the Tigers were most excited about, his bat, and the ability to hit for power.
Good for him rising through the minors but I hope the focus for the Tigers does not continue to be just looking for power. Too many power hitters do not get on base nearly enough and I would love for us to focus on getting some players who can consistently hit for average. We are currently strike out kings of baseball, usually swinging out of the shoes instead of just getting on and keeping the lineup moving through the innning so that runs will come. A home run is nice but does not need to be what we focus on. Comerica park is so big that hitting for average would be the smart way to go