Texas Tech baseball: Josh Jung selected No. 8 overall by Texas Rangers

Monday night, Texas Tech third baseman/shortstop Josh Jung was selected No. 8 overall by the Texas Rangers in the first round of the MLB draft.

Things continue to go well for the Texas Tech baseball team. Just one day after clinching a spot in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season, the Red Raiders saw their best player, Josh Jung, selected No. 8 overall by the Texas Rangers in the Major League Baseball Draft.

The co-Big 12 Player of the Year is hitting .340 on the season with 11 homers and 53 RBI for the reigning Big 12 regular season champs. But it has been what he’s done in the field that has been perhaps the most impressive to major league teams.

Widely considered the best third baseman in the nation, Jung moved to shortstop mid-season where he has played nearly flawless defense. In 24 games at short, he’s made just two errors while maintaining a .974% fielding percentage.

But the Rangers are almost certain to move Jung back to his natural position at the hot corner where they are looking to replace future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre who retired at the end of the 2018 season. And with no true Major League third base prospects in the system, there could be a direct path to Arlington for Jung who may have the opportunity to move through the Rangers’ farm system rather quickly.

Jung is the highest-drafted Red Raider since outfielder Donald Harris was selected by the Rangers with the No. 5 overall pick in the 1989 draft. And he is the 10th Texas Tech product to be selected by Texas but the first since Michael Mask in 2004.

As Tim Tadlock has built one of the best programs in the nation, Tech has begun to churn out MLB draft picks. Last year alone, eleven Red Raiders were selected but none in the first round. Grant Little was the highest Tech draftee last year being taken by the San Diego Padres in the second round.

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Jung is the 40th Red Raider to be taken in the Tim Tadlock era but the only first rounder. And many expect him to have an impact at the Major League level.

"Former MLB general manager Dan O’Dowd recently gave the Dallas Morning News the following scouting report on Jung: “Athletically, I think there is room for Jung to grow. He’s got great plate discipline, maybe elite. I’d put him in the category of hitter over power right now. I’m not concerned about the lack of pull power right now; I think it’s more important that he is covering the outer half of the plate. The power will come. I do think there is a lot of work to do defensively. He’s a good hitter, but he doesn’t reek of athleticism.”"

The perceived lack of athleticism is one of the biggest knocks against Jung, but his ability to play short with such proficiency may have put some of those concerns to rest. Still, he is not considered athletic enough to play there at the next level, but he is more than capable of handling third base at an elite level.

Others question whether he is capable of being a true power hitter in the big leagues. And it is true that he is more of a gap-to-gap hitter rather than a traditional pull hitter right now. But it is not uncommon for hitters to find their power as they get more comfortable in professional baseball and the fact that he is already capable of going the opposite way suggests that he might be further along in his development as a hitter than many other players his age.

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The MLB Draft will continue through Wednesday and a number of Red Raiders expect to be selected including Cameron Warren, Gabe Holt, John McMillion and Caleb Kilian. It has become an annual summer tradition for major league teams to raid the Texas Tech roster for talent and with the best player in the Big 12 conference already off the board, it appears that will continue in 2019.

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