With Alex Bregman in town, Jace Jung still vying to lock down Tigers’ third-base role

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DETROIT — Amid a trying time in the major leagues, Jace Jung caught wind of a Hall of Famer talking about failure.

Derek Jeter was one of Jung’s favorite players growing up. Jung wore No. 2 at Texas Tech in Jeter’s honor. Recently, Jeter gave the commencement address at the University of Michigan. The former Yankees captain talked of his struggles in the minor leagues: 56 errors in one year.

“Failure is essential,” Jeter said in his speech. “If I can promise you one thing for certain, you will fail. The bigger the dream, the bigger the risk. But what’s the price if you don’t take the risk? If you don’t commit to the dream?”

“I wouldn’t have had the success without the failures. It’s your job to make sure that a speed bump doesn’t become a road block.” -Derek Jeter during his Michigan commencement speech pic.twitter.com/nhOAV6kxf1

— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 6, 2025

Jung watched the video. Related to the struggle. Saw inspiration in someone who came out on the other side.

“I think that hit home with me,” Jung said Monday afternoon at his locker. “Jeter, him talking about the struggles he went through, with him going home at night crying. … You’re like, ‘This is a Hall of Famer, and this is a game of failure.’”

Jung didn’t make the Tigers out of spring training. He is hitting .098 through his first 41 at-bats since getting called up in April. This past weekend, he was part of a special span of days, playing against his brother, with his parents in the stands, on Mother’s Day weekend. But in the series finale, he watched as his older brother, Josh, launched a home run in a Texas Rangers win. Part of it gnawed at him. Jung has yet to homer in the major leagues.

“There was cuss words going on in my head,” Jung said. “And I’m like, ‘I need to do that.’”

Jung’s competitive drive runs high. He expects much of himself. So far in the big leagues, the bat he is known for has not emerged. He is under a natural microscope this week, with Alex Bregman and the Boston Red Sox in town.

The Tigers pursued Bregman hard this winter. In spring training, Bregman told The Athletic he thought he was coming to Detroit for “98 percent” of the offseason. Instead, Bregman signed with the Red Sox. The Tigers have fared well without him, now 27-15 with a first-place spot in the standings. Still, the city’s infatuation with Bregman remains.

Monday, seven Detroit reporters crowded around Bregman’s locker in the visiting clubhouse. On the walls, cutout logos for all 30 teams span above the lockers. Bregman’s just happened to be under two logos: The Houston Astros, his former team, and the Detroit Tigers, the club he almost signed with. Media members asked Bregman about the offseason pursuit, the possibility of being booed, his relationship with manager A.J. Hinch, and yes, even the possibility of the Tigers being on his radar again next winter, when Bregman could opt out of his Red Sox deal.

“I think I’m focused down where my feet are right now and trying to compete,” Bregman said with a slight laugh. “Trying to focus on winning games this season and winning the game today.”

Monday, the Tigers beat Bregman’s Red Sox 14-2, strengthening Detroit’s claim as the best team in the American League. But for all the Tigers’ success, third base remains something of a question. The Tigers have played Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry, Andy Ibáñez and Jung there this season. Tigers third basemen entered Monday with a combined .547 OPS, good for 27th in the league and the worst of any Tigers position.

There will be more roster shuffling ahead when Matt Vierling returns from injury. Vierling, McKinstry or Báez could see more time at third. And that leads us back to Jung, who must get going soon to remain on the roster. With a challenge comes an opportunity.

Jung, the eye-black-clad third baseman, had a .362 on-base percentage over a short stint in the majors last season. So far this year, he has looked greatly improved playing third base. But he’s still searching for that first home run, trying to steer clear of the bomb-or-bust mentality that got him in trouble a few times last season.

“I pray for it all the time,” Jung said. “Just for one to go over the fence. Let me get a double or something. But right now it’s just getting back to the basics, finding the barrel, put a good swing on it and letting it go from here.”

Right now, Jung is trying to trust the process. He knows what the scoreboard numbers look like. “Obviously, it doesn’t look good,” he said.

The metrics suggest some good signs — Jung’s 14.2 percent walk rate is encouraging, and his 74.2 mph average bat speed proves he has the physical ability to hit at this level. But Jung has an expected batting average of only .182. His average exit velocity has been a mediocre 89.3 mph. He is hitting groundballs at a 48.1 percent clip. For now, Jung is trying to stay out of the weeds. He has clung to small positives. In one game against the Los Angeles Angels, Jung hit three balls at 100 mph or harder. Two of them got caught.

Two days later, a ball left the bat at 107.3 mph. Another out.

“I’m just thinking hypotheticals,” Jung said. “If those balls fall, the average looks completely different on the board.”

In the bigger picture, Jung has the ability to hit. His defensive improvements at third offer encouragement about his future. But he also could face hard adjustments if he does not begin hitting fastballs. Jung is whiffing at a 27 percent rate against fastballs, more often than any other pitch. He has long done well with the unconventional, flat way he holds his bat at the plate. But facing major-league velocity, a slight additional hitch seems to have found its way into Jung’s swing. His timing has often been late.

“I think with Jace, first off, I love him as a player,” Hinch said. “I love his mentality. … What happens, oftentimes, is the prove-it mentality can create another hill to climb. When he got sent down, he took it as hard as any player that I sent down this year. He’s constantly trying to prove that he belongs, prove that he can conquer this level and not have to go back down. I think that brings an edge to him. It also brings another hill to climb when he’s trying to be the best version of himself.”

This is a crux so many young hitters in the major leagues face. How do you prove yourself? And how do you keep from twisting yourself in knots when the hits aren’t falling?

“Young players, they often want to do everything, every at-bat,” Hinch said. “He’s gonna work, and he’s gonna continue to try to make some adjustments to address some of the things they’re doing against him at this level.”

The good news?

Jung knows what failure looks like.

Knows what overcoming it can look like, too.

“It’s part of baseball,” he said. “You can dwell on the past or you can try and fix it. Right now, just get back in there and grind and hit the ball hard and keep going, and they’ll fall eventually.”

(Photo: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)

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