After a stellar collegiate career that led to him being drafted #4 overall in the 2023 amateur draft, Langford flew through the majors afterward, impressing with his hit tool, approach, and power before ending the campaign in Triple-A.
Wyatt Langford is knocking on the door to the majors even though he was only drafted by Texas this past July. Taken #4 overall out of the University of Florida, the 21 year-old rocketed through the Rangers system to finish the campaign in Triple-A. With a plus hit tool, strong approach, at least plus power, and above-average power, Langford could make an impact in fantasy as early as 2024.
After not playing much in his freshman season with the Gators, Langford broke out in 2021. Across 303 plate appearances, he batted .356 with 26 homers, 63 RBI, 73 runs scored, and 7 steals in 11 attempts as a sophomore. He showed patience and a good eye at the dish as he drew walks to post a .447 OBP. And he didn’t fan often, just 44 times in those 303 PA, while tying Matt LaPorta for the most homers in a season by a Gator.
He followed up that strong season with another in his junior campaign, hitting .373 with 21 dingers, 57 RBI, 83 runs scored, and a more efficient 9 steals in 10 chances over 303 PA. He showed even more patience at the dish as he compiled a .498 OBP. He fanned exactly 44 times again across those 303 PA. The excellent campaign made him a unanimous first-team All-American and a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award.
MLB Pipeline ranked Langford as the #3 overall prospect entering the 2023 amateur draft. Scouting reports raved about his five-tool potential. His hit tool is a plus, with excellent swing mechanics and a strong approach at the plate that help him to both limit strikeouts and draw walks. He’s already begun to tap into his considerable raw power, which some scouts rate as plus-plus. He is also a stolen-base threat as he possesses plus speed. He’s toolsy enough that there was some speculation that he’d slide over from left field to center before the 2023 collegiate season began, although he ultimately remained in center. MLB Pipeline ranks Langford as the #13 overall prospect in baseball while Fangraphs has him at #15.
A strong collegiate career and high marks from scouts and major prospect outlets are great, but what about is work as a professional to date? Well, Langford registered only 14 PA in Rookie ball, batting .385 while smashing a homer, ripping 3 doubles, and stealing a base before Rangers management promoted him to High-A Hickory. There, he stayed long enough to record 106 PA in which he hit .333 with 5 dingers, 15 RBI, 22 runs scored, and 7 steals (in 8 tries), logging a robust wRC+ of 192. He fanned and walked at an identical 17% clip.
Clearly advanced for that level, Langford moved up to Double-A Frisco, where he was even more impressive, batting .405 with 4 homers, 10 RBI, 7 runs scored, and a stolen base (albeit in 3 attempts), with an otherworldly wRC+ of 224 across 54 PA. He walked at a 20% clip that dwarfed his 13% strikeout rate. Apparently, he had little left to prove there after only a dozen games of action as Texas management promoted him to Triple-A Round Rock for the last handful of games of the season. There, he hit .368 with no homers (but 3 doubles!), 1 RBI, 3 runs scored, and 3 steals (in 3 tries) across just 26 PA. It was a tiny sample size, but he walked and struck out at an identical 23% clip (6 times each).
So, Langford simply followed up an impressive collegiate baseball career with a very promising professional debut, logging a total of 200 PA in the minors (after completing a collegiate season that included his team competing for the national championship game in the College World Series. In his first run of professional action, Langford hit .360 with 10 homers, 17 doubles, 2 triples, 30 RBI, 36 runs scored, 12 steals in 15 attempts, and .480 OBP across four levels. He walked (36) more often than he struck out (34) while compiling a staggering OPS of 1.157.
The Rangers have another promising young OF waiting in
the wings and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Langford make his big-league
debut next season. It’s tough to tell at which level the Rangers will start him
next year, but it shouldn’t be long before he’s manning the OF in Arlington.
And fantasy owners would be wise to have him on their radar entering next
season given his five-tool potential that he’s already shown in the minors.
Photo credit: Florida Gators Baseball.
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