Four months ago, the Detroit Tigers summoned Jace Jung — the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 draft — for a career-changing May 13 meeting with president of baseball operations Scott Harris, manager A.J. Hinch and hitting coaches Michael Brdar, Keith Beauregard and Lance Zawadzki.
The message was simple.
Change your swing.
He complied.
“Because I want to get back to the big leagues,” Jung said before the 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, Sept. 20, one day after the Tigers recalled him from Triple-A Toledo, replacing injured Colt Keith. “My goal is to get to the big leagues, stay in the big leagues.”
The swing change is all about Jung’s hands.
In his old setup, he started with his hands held high — all the way up by his head. In his new setup, he begins with his hands lower — down near his shoulder and chest. The bat angle has changed, too, from upright behind his head to flatter across his shoulder. Those adjustments have cleaned up his swing path, eliminating the extra movement of dropping his hands before contact.
It’s a shorter, more direct swing.
“You guys noticed?” Jung said, smiling.
“We had a conversation about moving the hands down,” Jung continued. “The first couple weeks were a little rough. I think I struck out almost every time, but I stuck with it. I eventually came out with good results.”
Jung, a left-handed hitter who plays third base and second base, has struggled to connect on high-velocity fastballs throughout his 54-game MLB career, spanning parts of two seasons. He is still searching for his first home run.
Hitting fastballs will benefit him in the big leagues.
Here’s the Triple-A data: With the old swing, he hit .258 on fastballs, including a .125 batting average on fastballs that registered at least 95 mph. With the new swing, he hit .287 on fastballs, including a .293 batting average on fastballs that registered at least 95 mph.
“The difference is I feel like I could hit anything now,” Jung said. “I just go up there and try to get a good pitch and hit it. That’s my main goal now. I’m ready to hit as soon as I get in there.”
For the Mud Hens, Jung hit .239 with an .872 OPS in 19 games with the old swing. He then hit .255 with an .805 OPS in 91 games with the new swing, including .330 with five home runs, 14 walks and 21 strikeouts in the last 22 games.
In total, Jung — who turns 25 in early October — hit .252 with 17 home runs, 78 walks and 125 strikeouts across 110 games for Triple-A Toledo in the 2025 season, registering an .816 OPS.
The Tigers appreciate Jung’s willingness to adapt.
“I think the openness to making a subtle adjustment or a big one is huge for a young player,” Hinch said before Saturday’s game. “With Jace, it’s a little bit of a bigger adjustment to get his hands in a better position. The actual swing path needed to be changed a little bit. It takes time, and it takes reps.”
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The Tigers weren’t planning for Jung to join them for the final two weeks of September — and possibly into October — but an injury forced him into the plans.
When Keith suffered an intercostal strain that prompted right rib cage inflammation, ruling him out for the rest of the regular season, the Tigers called Jung to fill the roster spot. Both players are left-handed hitting infielders.
There’s a chance Keith misses the postseason.
“I’m super excited to be here with these guys,” said Jung, hitting .190 with a .546 OPS in his 54-game MLB career. “It’s been a while, so I’m really happy to be back with these guys and trying to chase our ultimate goal.”
In 2024, Jung helped the Tigers advance to the postseason for the first time in 10 years. In 2025, he will try to help the Tigers win the American League Central for the first time in 11 years.
This time, Jung has a new swing.
During the May 13 meeting, the Tigers’ leaders showed Jung videos of some of MLB’s best left-handed hitters, with an emphasis on their hands.
Now, he’s back in the big leagues.
“Everybody brought great information to me with the changes and certain people within the league that are absolutely killing it,” Jung said, “like how their swing is and how my swing could be. It was a no-brainer after seeing all the names they brought to my face. I was like, ‘Oh, it’d be nice to be like them.'”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jace Jung returns to Detroit Tigers with new swing after A.J. Hinch, Scott Harris meeting
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
