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Gators Baseball Alum, Rangers OF Projected to Breakout in 2025

The former Gators and current Texas Rangers outfield is expected to be in some elite company by the end of the upcoming MLB season

Harrison Smajovits

A big year could be coming for the former Gator
A big year could be coming for the former Gator / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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The 2025 MLB season could be a big year for a Florida Gators baseball alumnus. Fantasy baseball writer Eric Cross created his stat projections for the upcoming season. He listed Texas Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford as one of four players projected to finish the season with 100 or more runs, 100 or more RBIs, 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases.  

The 23-year-old out of Trenton, Fla., quickly rose to the Major Leagues after he was taken fourth overall by the Rangers in the 2023 MLB Draft. Before the end of 2023, he made it to Triple-A and made the Opening Day roster last season. 

Langford played in 134 games for the Rangers last season. He had his ups and downs during his rookie season but only saw time again in Triple-A because he had a rehab assignment due to a right hamstring strain in May. 

He finished the 2024 season slashing .253/.325/.415 with 16 home runs, 74 RBIs, 74 runs and 19 stolen bases. By the end of the season, he was seeing the ball nearly as well as he did at Florida. In September, he slashed .300/.386/.610 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs. 

He had six multi-hits games compared to just five hitless games. 

A notbale moment for Langford came on Sept. 3, when he hit a walk-off grand-slam to beat the New York Yankees 7-4.

So, Langford really isn’t that far off from some of these projections. If he stays healthy and continues to see big stretches at the plate like we saw at the end of the season, he should reach these specific counting stats. 

To make this leap less than two years after your final game in college would also embody his speedy rise to the Major Leagues to a tee. 

A big year would also help the Rangers return to form following a quiet follow-up to their World Series run the season prior. The then-defending champions finished 78-84 and third place in the American League West. 

Langford was a standout at the plate in his time with the Gators. In 134 games in a Florida jersey, he slashed .363/.471/.746 with 47 home runs and 120 RBIs. Yes, he coincidently played the same number of games his rookie season in MLB as he did in his career at UF. Funny how that worked out. 

His final season at Florida saw the Gators make a run all the way to the College World Series finals against LSU, a rematch from the 2017 National Championship season. They lost in a decisive game three.

According to Baseball Reference, he was one of two Gatos (Ty Evans) to be named to the All-Tournament Team. 

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Harrison Smajovits
HARRISON SMAJOVITS

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