Jace Jung's intense competitiveness is the superpower behind his rise with Detroit Tigers
LAKELAND, Fla. — Maybe it was the heat.
Or maybe it was the tight proximity.
Or maybe — and this is far more likely — it was just two brothers trying to beat the heck out of each other.
Jace Jung and brother Josh were crammed in an infrared sauna, playing cards, getting hot and sweaty — part of their offseason recovery and therapy routine — and as the temperature hit 140 degrees, the intensity was boiling.
Everything is a competition between them.
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“It was a two-person sauna, and we were too close,” Jung said, breaking into a smile as he sat in his locker in the Tigers' clubhouse on Saturday morning. “And we had to take it outside the sauna because it was getting too intense, and we were too close to each other.”
This is how Jace prepared for the baseball season:
Hanging out with Josh, who starred as a rookie third baseman with the World Series-champion Texas Rangers last season.
Living together in Lubbock, Texas.
Training together.
But mostly competing against each other in everything.
After spending all day together training at Texas Tech, they would sit in the kitchen and play "Fortnite."
“We played on the kitchen table right next to each other,” he said. “We play duos, but then when one person said that they're better than the other — if somebody is talking too much mess — we'd have to go to box fights.”
One on one.
“And we’d settle it.”
Of course, he's competitive at the plate
A competitive, hate-to-lose nature is baked into Jace’s DNA.
So, there was no surprise how Tigers manager A.J. Hinch described this 23-year-old prospect, ranked No. 4 in the Tigers’ system at the end of last season by MLB Pipeline.
“Talk about someone who's very intense about competing, especially in the batter's box and in the infield,” Hinch said.
During a prospect camp, Hinch had a talk with Jung and explained why the Tigers wanted him to learn third base.
It’s pretty simple, really.
If Jung were to stay at second base, and if fellow prospect Colt Keith performs at the big-league level — and he just signed a guaranteed deal that shows the Tigers think he will — then Jung's MLB debut might be pushed back.
But at third?
The runway is wide open, as the Tigers don’t have a locked-in third baseman right now — in part because they are keeping the position open for Jung.
“He doesn't want to stay down longer than he has to,” Hinch said. “My impression of him is, he's dialed in to be a really good player. He wants to be a really good player. He's very motivated.”
And he has already learned how to make adjustments — one of the keys for any professional player.
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A huge adjustment
The Tigers drafted Jung No. 12 in 2022's first round, then sent him to High-A West Michigan that summer. After hitting .232 in his first 30 pro games, he opened 2023 with the Whitecaps again — but little had changed.
After 39 games in West Michigan, Jung was hitting .222 with five homers and a .720 OPS.
His timing was off, and he was out of whack. He hit rock bottom on May 30: 0-for-4 against the Dayton Dragons (the Cincinnati Reds' affiliate) with four strikeouts.
Jung turned to Jeff Branson, the Tigers' minor league hitting coordinator. They changed his timing mechanism.
Yes, Jung was apprehensive about making a significant change to his batting routine mid-season.
But in the next game, he homered and doubled, so he stuck with it. In the final five games of the series, he dominated the Dragons, going 13-for-19 with two homers, three doubles, three walks and 10 RBIs. That earned him Player of the Week honors in the Midwest League.
“Then just kind of went from there,” he said. “I have made great strides, and I'd credit all the Tigers supporting staff around me and my teammates, encouraging and having them by my side to help me out.”
By late July — following a 42-game stretch in which he hit nine homers with a .959 OPS — he was promoted to Double-A Erie. There, he hit .284 with 14 homers in just 51 games.
“He dominated the levels last year,” Hinch said. “Those are things that we pay attention to.”
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Preparing for this season
During the offseason, Jace and Josh got into a routine.
Josh drove them to Texas Tech — "because he had the parking pass,” Jace said.
They would get a tropical bowl with bananas, strawberries, and coconut on top.
“We got the same thing every day,” Jace said. “Then we’d go to the Texas Tech facility and play cards a little bit, eat our bowls and then get to the baseball stuff after that.”
He took countless grounders at both second and third: “They told me to be ready at both,” he said. “So just trying to really just enjoy the moment and go out there and grind and be in good shape.”
At night, they worked out again: “Just to hit the small ligaments and small muscles and just trying to really work them a little bit,” he said.
He played 15 games in the Arizona Fall League but did most of his work before the games, getting extra practice at third base. Sometimes, by himself. But Alan Trammell, the Tigers Hall of Famer who works with the youngsters, also spent time with Jung in Arizona.
“He took to third base pretty well in the Fall League,” Hinch said. “We're going to continue that; he's going to play both second and third.”
This is Jung’s first big-league camp, or at least it will be — Tigers position players have their first full workout set for Monday. It's his first time in the main clubhouse, his first time around these coaches full time.
In some ways, the Tigers just want him to get his feet wet and soak it all up.
But that’s not Jace.
When facing a challenge, he wants to win.
Doesn't matter if it's big picture or an at-bat. He wants to become great at third base.
Wants to get to the big leagues.
Wants to win at everything.
It’s in his DNA.
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Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
To read Seidel's recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Jace Jung has winning in his DNA and in his bat
