AJ Hinch compares top prospect to Tigers fans’ least favorite player

AJ Hinch told No. 4 prospect Jace Jung that he wouldn't be making the major league team pretty much out of the gate at Detroit Tigers' spring training. Jung, No. 3 prospect Jackson Jobe, and No. 6 prospect Ty Madden were just there to observe, work out with the big leaguers, maybe get a few at-bats or innings in during games — but because none have cracked Double-A yet (Jobe was still in High-A at the end of 2023), they wouldn't be on the Opening Day roster.

Jung seemed like a good enough sport about it, but that hasn't stopped him from taking his appearances in spring training games very seriously. He's appeared in two games and taken two at-bats so far. The first resulted in a walk that later turned into a run, but Jung scowled as he took his free base.

Per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, Hinch said of Jung and the at-bat, it was "the most angry walk you’re going to get out of a first-year guy. [...] He’s going to rival Javy (Báez) with his disdain for walks" (subscription required).

Now, Hinch clearly meant this as a compliment. Jung is a competitive player who wants to see pitches he can actually hit instead of getting a free pass. However, can a comparison to Báez when it comes to getting on base ever actually be a compliment?

Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch said Jace Jung would "rival Javier Báez in his disdain for walks"

Báez's hatred for walking isn't new; believe it or not, his league-worst .267 OBP in 2023 wasn't even this worst OBP on a year. In 2020, his last year with the Cubs, he was at .238, and he has a .298 OBP for his entire career. He only walked 4.4% of the time in both 2022 and 2023, but neither of those are career lows for him, either.

In High-A and Double-A, Jung has also seen his walk rates decline over the past two years. In 2022 at High-A, he walked 18.7% of the time, but that dipped to 11% during the 47 games he played in Double-A in 2023. That 11% still makes Jung above-average in his plate discipline, but the steep decline does suggest some patience is wearing thin. At least Jung, unlike Báez, can actually make contact; he sported a very nice .284/.373/.563 line in Double-A.

So Jung hasn't given us a reason to worry about being too swing-happy yet, but maybe Hinch should dream up another comparison that doesn't give Tigers fans immediate cause to be afraid of his development.