MLB sees Jace as another top Jung prospect
The Texas Tech baseball program has benefited by coach Tim Tadlock being able to write the name of a Jung brother onto the lineup card for virtually every game over the past six seasons.
That era, nice for Red Raiders fans while it lasted, is coming to an end. The Texas Rangers made third baseman Josh Jung the eighth overall selection in the 2019 Major League draft, and second baseman Jace Jung also is projected to go in the top half of the first round when the 2022 draft gets under way Sunday. Both brothers were consensus all-America honorees over the course of their career.
Jace Jung has been ranked among the top 10 draft prospects by most publications this spring. He remains No. 8 on the final draft board released Saturday by The Sporting News and No. 9 on MLB's most recent ranking, though he might slide a little. MLB.com's final mock draft released Wednesday projects him as the No. 14 pick to the New York Mets. Prospectslive has him going No. 12 to the Detroit Tigers.
The lefty hitter from San Antonio MacArthur batted .335 this season with 14 home runs and 57 runs batted in. He started all 61 games and drew 59 walks, which tied for fifth in NCAA Division I. Within the Big 12, he also ranked among the top five in on-base percentage (.481), on-base-plus slugging (1.093) and runs (68).
MLB.com gives him a 60 grade — well above average on the 20-80 scouting scale — for hit tool, power and overall grade. Speed, arm and defensive range are his drawbacks in scouts' eyes.
Major League Baseball last year moved the annual draft from its long-time spot in early June to July to be staged in conjunction with All-Star Game festivities and permanently reduced it to 20 rounds. There are 620 picks to be made over the next three days.
Tech has had 57 players drafted in Tadlock's 10 years as head coach, including nine last year, 11 after the 2018 season and 10 in 2016.
Whereas Jung appears certain to go pro, the Red Raiders also could lose their top three starting pitchers off a team that went 39-22 and made the championship round of the NCAA Statesboro Regional. Brandon Birdsell (9-3, 2.75 earned-run average) is certain to get a draft call, Andrew Morris (8-2, 4.58) also is quite likely and Chase Hampton (5-4, 4.29) could go as well.
Hampton, though only two years out of high school, is eligible because his 21st birthday on Aug. 7 is within 45 days of the draft. The righthander from Kilgore came on strong at the end of the season with 37 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings over his final four appearances, during which he had a 1.66 ERA. He fanned seven at Baylor, nine at Oklahoma State, nine against Oklahoma and a career-high 12 against Notre Dame in the Statesboro Regional.
Birdsell tumbled in last year's draft over health concerns after he missed the last two months of the season with a strained rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. He turned down an 11th-round opportunity from the Minnesota Twins. He bounced back strong for Tech this season, earning recognition as Big 12 pitcher of the year and second- and third-team all-America by separate outlets. Throwing his fastball at 94 to 97 miles per hour, he struck out 106 in 85 innings and limited his walks to 29.
D1Baseball, which ranks only college players, has Jung at No. 11 on its top 150, Birdsell at No. 54 and Morris at No. 143. On Baseball America's top 500 high-school and college draft prospects, Jung is No. 9, Birdsell No. 137, Hampton No. 291 and Morris No. 318. That list also includes a pair of Tech signees: Tomball outfielder Jeric Curtis at No. 125 and Warner Robins, Georgia outfielder Gage Harrelson at No. 378.
MLB Draft
Time: 6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m. Monday, 1 p.m. Tuesday
Originates: Los Angeles
Selections: Rounds 1 and 2, competitive balance and competition rounds on Sunday; rounds 3 through 10 on Monday, rounds 11 through 20 on Tuesday.
TV: MLB Network all three days; ESPN on Sunday.
Online streaming: fuboTV and ESPN+
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech's Jace Jung is a top prospect as MLB draft begins
