The Texas Rangers will be without starting third baseman Josh Jung for the foreseeable future after Jung suffered a broken wrist after he got hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of their 9-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday night. The Rangers have placed Jung on the injured list as a result, opening up a roster spot in the process.

Texas has now decided on which player to call up to the big league roster in the aftermath of Jung's injury. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Rangers will be promoting former first-round pick Justin Foscue to the 26-man roster. Foscue is a versatile infielder who can play three positions (first, second, and third base) and he should be a helpful piece moving forward as the Rangers stem the tide amid Jung's absence.

Foscue has not played in the MLB before, so it will be interesting to see if the Rangers turn over the third base gig to him on a full-time basis from the get-go, or whether he'll be integrated slowly into the lineup behind the likes of Ezequiel Duran and Josh Smith.

Justin Foscue to make his MLB debut for the Rangers soon

Justin Foscue was selected by the Rangers with the 14th overall pick of the 2020 MLB Draft. According to MLB.com, he is the fifth-best prospect in the Rangers pipeline, and it was only a matter of time before the 25-year old broke through to the big leagues.

Foscue has been safely above-average from the plate in all of his minor-league seasons apart from a rough patch when he first stepped foot in Double-A back in 2021. His contact ability and selectiveness at the plate are his best assets. This allows him to flourish with a mid to high batting average, and in 2023, his batting eye continued to improve after he drew more walks than strikeouts in Triple-A.

Last season, Justin Foscue slashed .266/.394/.468 in 563 plate appearances for the Round Rock Express, so his promotion to the big league roster isn't exactly one that was made merely out of necessity. Foscue was ready for a bigger challenge, and he has been for quite some time. It's rather unfortunate that it took an injury to Josh Jung for him to get an opportunity, but the Rangers will now get an extended look on how well Foscue's skills at the plate will translate to the highest level of competition.

As for his defense, the scouting report on him is that he projects to be a mid to below average defender due to his “well-below-average speed and substandard range and arm strength”.

Foscue had 48 at-bats for the Rangers during Spring Training this year. He hit one home run and drove in six runs while slashing .250/.315/.396.

Josh Jung's injury gives Foscue the opportunity of a lifetime

For a while, it seemed as though Justin Foscue was going to have difficulties in breaking through to the big-league roster for the Rangers. The Rangers had a stacked infield, with quality players at every position. But now, Foscue's prospect pedigree should be more than enough reason for Texas to give him as much playing time as he can handle, with Josh Jung likely to miss a few months.

Foscue is not the power hitter Jung is, but he should give the Rangers another weapon in the lineup that shows how rich Texas is in talent these days.