Rangers Star Langford Quietly Making Major Noise With Bat in Year 2

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Wyatt Langford is a man of few words. 

He walks around the Texas Rangers’ facility quietly, signs dozens of autographs for an elementary school’s worth of excited kids and then makes his way onto the field without a peep. There, in the batter’s box, everything is silent, and that’s just the way he likes it. 

Because in the next moment, long after his feet were set in the box and his bat drifted above his shoulder, and usually following the swift contact of wood to cowhide, he lets his play do the talking. Frequently, that’s followed by a cheering crowd, and that’s his fault — he’s had a gift for hitting that dates back to his Little League days — but by now, he’s probably gotten used to it. 

In only his second year in the majors, the 23-year-old left-fielder has ascended, becoming the centerpiece of an already All-Star-littered Rangers’ roster, while making a convincing case for his own first selection. In doing so, he’s hitting the ball a lot (.297/.371/.549, to be exact), and fans are screaming, frequently. 

“Wyatt’s kind of the one who’s on the up-and-coming [list] of potential superstars,” Rangers assistant general manager Cole Figueroa said. “We have players like Corey [Seager] and Marcus [Semien], and Wyatt still stands out.”

But his play this season might not be nearly as impressive as his rise. Texas took the University of Florida star with the fourth pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, making him the second-highest Gator selected ever (behind only Mike Zunino in 2012). So the vision was always there.

Langford, an All-American in his junior season in Gainesville, finished his UF career in the school’s top 10 for batting average, home runs and on-base percentage. Away from his stats, he possessed the prototypical skills needed to become a star major-league outfielder: a strong bat, both for power and efficiency, good speed on the base path and in the field, and, above all, an unparalleled drive. 

His bat has carried him a long way; Langford hit above .300 in every level of play from the Arizona Complex League to Triple-A, which he rose through unfathomably fast in the span of two months during the summer of 2023. The speed kicked in during his rookie campaign in the 2024 season, where, when the bat had yet to fully click, he still managed 25 doubles and 19 steals in 134 games with the Rangers, driving in 74 runs and finishing seventh in American League Rookie of the Year voting. But in his second season, he thinks any improvement can be attributed to his work ethic.

“The people are in charge here, they have a lot of faith in me,” he said, succinctly. “They trust me. 

Either way, that trust is paying dividends. While Langford spent a short 12-day stint on the Injured List in mid-April thanks to a mild right oblique strain, he has still managed to lead the Rangers in nearly every offensive category after the first month of the season. That’s no fault of the rest of Texas’s roster. He’s actually near the peak of the MLB in every category, placing in the top 25 in home runs (six), batting average (.297) and on-base percentage (.371). 

The best number to represent his strength, though? His OPS as of April 29: 1.044, which only trailed Pete Alonso’s and Aaron Judge’s. All of his stats have improved mightily from his rookie season, but the last week of April he took another step.

Since returning from injury on April 20, he’s had a trio of three-hit games, leading MLB with 12 hits during that stretch. Because of that, against the Athletics on April 29, Langford stepped into the leadoff spot for the first time in his career. The result: a 15-2 win, sparked by Langford’s bases-clearing double. 

With everything seemingly going right, Langford might be harkening back to what he said was his offseason focus in March at the Rangers’ spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona.

“Just staying healthy,” Langford said. “[I] started off a little banged up (he suffered a different oblique strain previously) … back from that now, just trying to catch up on a couple at-bats.”

Everything about Langford’s mindset seems consistent. And while his value on the field is unquestionable, what he does off it might be even more valuable.

While far from outspoken, Langford’s presence in the Rangers’ locker room features his even-keeled perspective. That drifts into his play, as he frequently, noticeably, consoles teammates after they make mistakes. That’s a lot for a 23-year-old in the ol’ ball game, but he’s fit for it.

“[Langford has] the humility of just approachability. [He’s] like one of the most approachable people, like always open to having conversation,” Figueroa said. “I think people gravitate to him as a person, and just are really excited to be around him.”

While Langford’s raking a clip over the last two weeks that’s near the best in MLB, what he’s doing on the field might not even be the most important value he’s providing a middling 17-18 Rangers squad. They’ll tell you that’s why they drafted him, though, even if his attributes were unrivaled.

“Obviously, [he] had been extremely successful at a super high level of college baseball, performed on the biggest stage,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said. “But it’s all the character attributes and intangibles that have allowed him to succeed so quickly.”

Young paused for a second, looking onto the Rangers’ practice field in mid-March, before concluding his thought.

“And I think the sky’s the limit for him.”

So Langford keeps hitting, and sometimes you think maybe he’ll deviate from his pensive tendencies after a three-knock game. I mean, there has to be something else inside the baseball-hitting robot, right?

Or after rising faster through the minor leagues faster than almost anyone ever, there’s probably something to chat about at least. During spring training, he gets question after question about his hitting and what adjustments he’s making, so anything else should be interesting: “What do you do for fun in the offseason?”

“Hunt a lot, fish a lot,” Langford said. “Golf.”

He has those speaking to him wrapped around his finger, living in his solemn landscape, just like the MLB world he’s storming into, one roaring crowd at a time.

More CJCxARZ Spring Training Coverage:
* Former Gators Shortstop Figueroa Thriving in New Role in Rangers’ Front Office
* Wyatt Langford Looking to Take Next Step After Big Rookie Year
* Dane Dunning on Winning a World Series, His Time With UF
* Man vs. Machine: MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike Spring Experiment Shows Game’s Evolution

Category: Cactus League, Texas Rangers, Top Stories
Tagged: MLB Spring Training Wyatt Langford