DALLAS — The Texas Rangers might have the most-hyped rookie in the history of their franchise, at least since David Clyde took the mound on a summer evening in 1973.
And no, we're not talking about Evan Carter, the 21-year-old who batted third in the World Series and hit .300 in the postseason after three weeks in the majors.
Carter will get his due, and he might end up the best of the young Rangers in the long run. But not even Carter's sparkling postseason debut, and even stronger spring training, can seem to escape the glow of Wyatt Langford.
The Rangers' 2023 first-round draft pick is making a mockery of spring ball, just like he did at every level of the minor leagues last year.
In 36 at-bats this spring, Langford is batting .361 with a .442 on-base percentage and five homers, including a grand slam Thursday night against the Reds. Langford powered a 1-2 pitch from Buck Farmer onto the berm beyond right-centerfield.
Langford's spring training has only been a continuation of his stint in the minors last summer when he slashed .360/.480/.1.157 with 10 homers and 17 doubles across 44 games.
The draftee's strong showing after signing with the Rangers led to rumblings that Texas would call him up for the postseason. That notion seemed far-fetched at the time. It seems less so now.
So let's dive into Langford's history and how we got to this point.
Who is Wyatt Langford and where's he from?
Langford, 22, was born in Gainesville, Fla., and grew up in Trenton, a town with a population of about 2,000, west of Gainesville. Langford was primarily a third baseman coming out of Trenton High School. Here's an excerpt from his Perfect Game profile:
The right-handed hitter starts with an even base and sets himself up to torque hard when he fires. Wyatt has top of the scale bat speed with a loose swing and lots of length through contact. He has an intent based approach with the ability to drive balls to all parts of the park. Highest level hitting tools. Good student.
Where did Langford go to college?
Langford went undrafted out of high school but signed with the nearby University of Florida. He played sparingly as a freshman, and then had his breakout year in 2022, earning All-American honors and batting .355 with 26 homers.
Langford's 2023 season was even better. He upped his average to .373 and collected 52 extra-base hits, including 21 homers. Langford and the Gators advanced to the College World Series, where they finished runner-up to LSU and Langford earned all-tournament team honors.
Langford ended his college career as Florida's all-time leader in slugging percentage, at .746, eclipsing the previous record by 32 points.
How did the Rangers land Langford?
The Rangers held the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, and Langford entered as one of the two best college-hitting prospects, alongside LSU's Dylan Crews. The Pirates selected pitcher Paul Skenes at No. 1 overall, and the Nationals picked Crews at No. 2.
The decision the Detroit Tigers had at No. 3 seemed to come down to Langford or Max Clark, who was regarded as the top high school player in the draft. The Tigers went with Clark.
Whether the Rangers' selection of Langford was a no-brainer or not, it was certainly an easy one. Texas' perpetually pitching-thin farm system could have used another arm, but none of the available options seemed to offer the upside that Langford did.
Langford ultimately signed for $8 million and reported to rookie ball. He didn't stay there long.
Langford's minor-league stats
Langford cruised through the Rangers' minor-league ranks last summer, arriving at Double-A Frisco after just 27 games as a pro. In Frisco, Langford hit .405 with four homers in 12 games, and then earned a promotion to Triple-A Round Rock. In just five games, Langford hit .368 with three doubles.
After the minor-league season came to a close, there was plenty of speculation among Rangers fans on whether the club would call him up in September or in the postseason. That didn't happen, and those kinds of moves -- a prospect getting drafted and making it to the majors in the same year -- are rare.
A breakout spring training
Langford entered big-league camp in February with a chance at making the Opening Day roster. He's taken full advantage, even though the Rangers haven't finalized their 40-man roster just yet.
Still, it's hard to see Langford not debuting in the majors later this month. The stats are one thing -- an eye-popping .361 average with five homers and 14 RBI in 13 games. Reading between the lines is another.
First, the Rangers' top option at designated hitter in 2023 was Mitch Garver, when healthy. Garver in the offseason signed with the Seattle Mariners. Did the Rangers let Garver walk because Langford was a possible option to slide in at DH? Not necessarily, but it's a logical conclusion (in addition to the Rangers having a crop of good young hitters, like Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue).
But whether Garver made room for Langford or not, it didn't change the fact that Langford entered camp with an opportunity he needed to seize. And he's done that.
Here's what Rangers Manager Bruce Bochy had to say earlier this week:
"There's no getting around it. That kid ... it's been fun to watch him. He's an incredible talent ... he's doing what he needs to do. He's got a great presence about him. I'll tell you what, what was impressive yesterday was how he got down the line on that ball to third. That speed would work anywhere in the outfield."
"Having the ability to handle everything that's been thrown at him, having the mental toughness to come in here and get off to the start that he did, where the results weren't there, and be able to handle it and not have a panic about you, or loss of confidence ... you never saw that with him," Bochy said. "Along with the talent, he's got the special makeup that I think is going to make him just a tremendous player and have a tremendous career."