A New Mindset Has Josh Jung Off to a Red-Hot Start
After two years that were plagued with injuries and frustrations, the Rangers third baseman is raking in 2026.
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What a difference a year can make. Josh Jung went from an average yet frustrating season in 2025 to being one of the hottest hitters in baseball thus far in 2026. The Texas Rangers third baseman is producing at a clip that has put him in the upper echelon in several statistical categories.
When the Rangers took Jung as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Texas Tech, the excitement of having a top-tier homegrown guy manning the hot corner was palpable. Early on, outside of a long list of injury issues, Jung looked extremely solid.
Then, in his rookie campaign of 2023, Jung garnered nationwide attention with his outstanding performance in the playoff run that led to the organization’s first-ever World Series championship.
During that postseason, Jung slashed .308/.329/.538, with four doubles, one triple, and three home runs. Not only did he rake during the 2023 playoffs, but he made several outstanding defensive plays as well.
Jung was an All-Star in 2023 and finished the year fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year race. But as is often the case in this sport, Jung’s career path hasn’t been linear.
He would miss a large portion of 2024 with injuries, and then in 2025, although he played most of the season, there were nagging injuries and mental struggles that hampered his performance.
Jung by the Numbers
Baseball is a numbers game, and Jung has been putting up some massive ones in 2026. But it didn’t start that way.
Through the first eight games of the year, Jung was hitting only .138/.167/.138. Eventually, after his struggles last year and his ice-cold start to this season, Jung found his name written into the ninth spot on Skip Schumaker’s lineup card. In fact, one of my friends quipped that if there was a 10th spot in the order, that is where Jung would be.
But then something clicked, and Jung started hitting. And he has kept hitting, showing no signs of slowing down. Through games on May 12, Jung is slashing .320/.369/.503, with 12 doubles, five home runs, 18 runs scored, 20 RBI, and a 146 wRC+.
The average and the doubles stand out the most. All of last season, Jung only had 23 doubles. He has always used the whole field, but he is driving the ball gap to gap at a higher pace this season. A career .262 hitter, Jung is stacking quality at-bats and is giving away fewer.
A big reason for his success this season has been a drastic reduction in strikeout rate. Last year, Jung’s K% was 25.2%, and over his career, it is 26.6%. This season, it is only 15.6%.
He has been laying off pitches out of the zone and making pitchers come to him. Instead of beating himself, he is making the pitchers work and capitalizing on any mistakes that they might make.
Jung loves Captain America. And a look at his Baseball Savant page over the last three years shows a very red, white, and blue contrast.
In 2024, his page is white, as he missed most of the season with injuries. Last year, it was predominantly blue, as he struggled in most categories. And then this year, he has been on a serious heater; his page is filled with red.
As one of the Rangers’ bounce-back boys from my “spring training storylines” piece, Jung is indeed back and taking his game to new heights.
The Approach
Watching Jung play consistently over the last two seasons, it was apparent that his approach was power-driven and aggressive to a fault. Not the type of aggressiveness that looks for balls in the zone to punish. It appeared that he was so anxious to hit that he was going to go after just about anything that was thrown.
Known for his hard work and preparation, Jung has a new mindset this season. He isn’t chasing as he did. His pitch recognition appears to have improved exponentially. It has allowed him to spit on pitches that last year he would have waved at in order to keep the at-bat going.
Jung is a natural-born leader. But it can be a challenge to lead when you are still relatively young in your career and have struggled for the most part. And to be fair, Jung never looked terrible before this season. The last two years just didn’t live up to his, or anyone’s, expectations.
This year, he seems more relaxed at the plate and has bought into a slightly new approach. Specifically with two strikes, Jung has been an altogether different hitter.
Last season, when opposing pitchers would get two strikes on Jung, it was basically game over. In that scenario, he hit only .143/.193/.213.
This year, it has been the exact opposite. With two strikes, Jung has been able to stay in the moment and continue to grind out the at-bat. He boasts a .324/.360/.493 hit line when he has two strikes against him in 2026.
During a sit-down interview with Rangers Sports Network’s Jared Sandler this week, Jung expanded on his two-strike approach.
“I’m just trying to touch it, especially when I get two strikes. I’m just trying to make contact,” Jung said.
While basic in nature, it is effective in practice. Instead of trying to do too much with the ball or chasing out of the zone, Jung has been laser-focused on making contact and putting the ball in play. The results speak for themselves.
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Written by
West Jones is a baseball enthusiast who resides in Texas. He is a graduate of Tarleton State University (finance) and has his MBA from Ball State…