Jace Jung is making this Double-A thing look easy.
The Tigers’ No. 2 prospect has only been at the level less than a week, but he’s been flexing his power ever since arriving at Detroit’s Double-A affiliate Erie on July 25. The latest example came Sunday, when Jung belted two homers in the SeaWolves’ 7-1 victory over Akron.
Jung clubbed a solo homer in the third and added a two-run tater in the seventh to pace the SeaWolves and achieve his third career multi-homer game, and first at Double-A. All have come this year for the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 Draft and currently MLB’s No. 57 prospect per MLB Pipeline, who has flashed his impact offensive potential ever since entering Detroit’s system.
But then again, that is what the Tigers expected from Jung after a decorated career at Texas Tech, where he won Big 12 Conference Player of the Year honors just like his brother, Rangers All-Star Josh Jung. It only took the elder Jung two-and-a-half seasons in the Minors to reach Texas, and Jace might be on a similar trajectory, already at Double-A a little more than a year after his drafting.
While Jung’s overall numbers didn’t jump off the page in his pro debut, he still showed an advanced feel for hitting and good plate discipline in his first 30-game run at High-A West Michigan down the stretch in 2022. The power came when Jung returned to the level this season, bashing 14 homers with a .842 OPS in 81 games before his recent promotion. Since joining the SeaWolves he’s been red-hot, hitting .292/.346/.667 with three homers, seven RBIs and 16 total bases in his first six games.