Mike Ridaught
The defending World Series champion Texas Rangers open their 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs.
Not only has Wyatt Langford made the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, but he is slated to be in the starting lineup.
“He’s earned it,” Rangers’ manager Bruce Bochy was quoted this morning as reported by Dallas Morning News Rangers beat writer Evan Grant. “He deserves it. I wouldn’t even talk about the performance as much. It’s just the way he’s managed to carry himself. There’s a lot a lot of attention, a lot of pressure. But he’s just paid attention to everything, the little things. He lost a fly ball – everybody loses fly balls out here – and the first thing he did was seek out the pitcher. He’s just carried himself like a major leaguer since Day One.”
Now the question is, where will MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 overall prospect bat in the lineup?
“I don’t think we are looking at where he is going to hit right now,” Bochy said. “Could he hit third? Sure, that’s a possibility.”
He has taken the Rangers 2024 marketing slogan “Went And Took It” to heart this spring.
Entering today, Langford is batting .388 with six homers and 19 RBIs in 17 spring games. His 1.242 OPS is the best mark in the Cactus League.
Langford, who was drafted fourth overall by the Texas Rangers this past July, signed for $8 million last summer.
His ascent to the top has been rapid.
He was assigned to the Arizona Complex League (ACL) Rangers on July 28 but only played three games (1 HR, 3 doubles) before being promoted to the Hickory Crawdads on Aug. 2.
As a member of the Crawdads, he had a slash line of .333/.453/.644/1.097 over 24 games. He had eight doubles, two triples, 5 HRs, 15 RBI, and stole 7-of-8 bases.
Just two months after being drafted, Langford made his Double-A debut against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
In September, he made his Triple-A debut with the Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League (PCL).
He will become the 83rd former Gator to debut in the MLB and the 31st to do so under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, becoming the first Gator to reach the Majors since Jacob Young did on Aug. 26, 2023, with the Washington Nationals.
Langford has been “runnin’ down a dream” since he was a kid.
He put Trenton on the map during high school ball, which gave him a chance to star at the University of Florida.
“I saw this in Wyatt while he was here at Trenton,” said Scott Hall, his former baseball coach at Trenton. “He wanted to be something special. A lot of kids have the potential, but they don’t have the want to. They don’t have the drive, they don’t respect the game, and they think they are bigger than the game. Not Wyatt Langford. Yes, he is physically gifted and talented, but he has a work ethic and understanding that he must continue to work and get better.”
His breakout season with the Gators came as a sophomore when he started all 66 games in left field and led UF with a .355 batting average, a .447 on base percentage, and a .719 slugging percentage. He also was tops in hits (91), runs (73), RBI (63) triples (three) and total bases (184).
He tied Matt LaPorta’s single-season program home run record with 26, which also led the Southeastern Conference, in his final at-bat of the 2022 season.
“Wyatt Langford is a generational player,” said Oak Hall baseball coach Kevin Maris, who coached Langford in travel ball. “You don’t see many of those guys like Wyatt around. His mental approach to not only the game but every opportunity he has throughout the game is where he separates himself because he wants to master everything from the biggest moment to the smallest opportunity and takes pride in conquering that moment.”
Maris said Langford came to the Florida Hardballers in eighth grade and John Colacci found him out in Trenton.
“He’s by far the best player the Florida Hardballers ever had since we started the Hardballers in 2006,” he said.
According to a University of Florida press release, Langford has slashed .360/.480/.677 with 10 homers and more walks (36) than strikeouts (34) during his four levels of Minor League Baseball: Rookie, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A.
Langford’s MiLB performance earned him an invitation to 2024 MLB Spring Training, where he proceeded to hit .388 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 49 at bats. That was good for a 1.242 OPS and an eventual spot on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster.
Across his three-year Gators career from 2021-23, Langford was a unanimous First Team All-American in 2023, also being named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team, a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist and First Team All-SEC after hauling in All-American and All-SEC accolades as a sophomore in 2022.
Langford has batted .363/.471/.746 across 134 career games. He totaled 47 home runs, 37 doubles, 156 runs, 120 RBI and 16 stolen bases.
His .746 career slugging percentage is the highest in UF baseball history. Langford was also reliable in the field, making just one career error in 233 chances for a .996 fielding percentage.
The sky is the limit for Langford.
One scout just compared him to 11-time MLB All-Star, three-time American League Most Valuable Player Mike Trout.
His AL Rookie of the Year odds took a big jump after being named to the Rangers’ Opening Day roster. Langford is now the favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year (+250 on FanDuel Sportsbook).
Below is a complete list of Gators to debut in MLB under O’Sullivan:
Player Drafted (Round) MLB Debut Team
1 Nick Maronde 2011 (3rd) September 2, 2012 Los Angeles Angels
2 Paco Rodriguez 2012 (2nd) September 9, 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers
3 Mike Zunino 2012 (1st – 3rd overall) June 12, 2013 Seattle Mariners
4 Kevin Chapman 2010 (4th) August 9, 2013 Houston Astros
5 Matt den Dekker 2010 (5th) August 29, 2013 New York Mets
6 Anthony DeSclafani 2011 (6th) May 14, 2014 Miami Marlins
7 Cole Figueroa 2008 (6th) May 16, 2014 Tampa Bay Rays
8 Preston Tucker 2012 (7th) May 7, 2015 Houston Astros
9 Brian Johnson 2012 (1st – 31st overall) July 21, 2015 Boston Red Sox
10 Nolan Fontana 2012 (2nd) May 22, 2017 Los Angeles Angels
11 Austin Maddox 2012 (3rd) June 17, 2017 Boston Red Sox
12 Harrison Bader 2015 (3rd) July 25, 2017 St. Louis Cardinals
13 Bobby Poyner 2015 (14th) March 31, 2018 Boston Red Sox
14 Justin Shafer 2014 (8th) August 19, 2018 Toronto Blue Jays
15 Eric Hanhold 2015 (6th) September 4, 2018 New York Mets
16 Richie Martin 2015 (1st – 20th overall) March 28, 2019 Baltimore Orioles
17 Pete Alonso 2016 (2nd) March 28, 2019 New York Mets
18 Shaun Anderson 2016 (3rd) May 15, 2019 San Francisco Giants
19 A.J. Puk 2016 (1st – 6th overall) August 21, 2019 Oakland Athletics
20 Brady Singer 2018 (1st – 18th overall) July 25, 2020 Kansas City Royals
21 Dane Dunning 2016 (1st – 29th overall) August 19, 2020 Chicago White Sox
22 Jonathan India 2018 (1st – 5th overall) Thursday, April 1, 2021 Cincinnati Reds
23 Jackson Kowar 2018 (1st – 33rd overall) Monday, June 7, 2021 Kansas City Royals
24 Taylor Gushue 2014 (4th) Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Chicago Cubs
25 Kirby Snead 2016 (10th) Wednesday, July 28, 2021 Toronto Blue Jays
26 Mark Kolozsvary 2017 (7th) Wednesday, April 20, 2022 Cincinnati Reds
27 Alex Faedo 2017 (1st – 18th overall) Wednesday, May 4, 2022 Detroit Tigers
28 Danny Young 2015 (8th) Monday, May 9, 2022 Seattle Mariners
29 Dalton Guthrie 2017 (6th) Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 Philadelphia Phillies
30 Jacob Young 2021 (7th) Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 Washington Nationals
31 Wyatt Langford 2023 (1st – 4th overall) ? Texas Rangers