ARLINGTON — It’s a question of permanence vs. flexibility.
Could Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung be best used as an everyday three-hole hitter? Or, as he’s been for the bulk of his season, is he best used as a matchup-based flex option that can rotate throughout the heart of Texas’ batting order?
Jung hit third on Saturday vs. the Los Angeles Angels at Globe Life Field for the third time in Texas’ last five games. He hit fifth and sixth in the two games that he didn’t.
“Yeah, it could be a spot for him [long term],” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of the three-hole. “It’s a very familiar spot for him, it’s where he hit in college.”
The top two batters in Bochy’s order — Marcus Semien first, Corey Seager second — are written in pen, not pencil. Their combined .826 on base plus slugging percentage in the last two seasons ranks second leaguewide.
There’s a noticeable drop afterwards. The Rangers have gotten below league average production out of their three-hole hitters during Bochy’s tenure as manager with an .745 on base plus slugging percentage (ranked 17th leaguewide) and a 111 wRC+ (ranked 16th) since the start of last season.
They’ve used 14 different position players in the three-hole during that time. Nine have gotten double-digit at bats there. Jung’s .860 on base plus slugging percentage is the best. This season, in 22 plate appearances as the Rangers’ three-hole hitter, he has a 1.041 on base plus slugging percentage.
So it’s a fit.
But.
“But, I like him in that five hole too,” Bochy said of Jung, who has started five games in the five-hole and a season-high 19 games at sixth. “Or the six hole. Those are important spots. Really, when you’re looking at who you’re facing, those things, that comes into play on what best suits [Wyatt] Langford or Jung.”
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