Texas Rangers' Top Prospect Could Make Team's Roster Out of Spring Training

Wyatt Langford, who was drafted No. 4 in the 2023 MLB Draft, could make the Texas Rangers' Opening Day roster after playing just 44 minor league games.
Texas Rangers' Top Prospect Could Make Team's Roster Out of Spring Training
Texas Rangers' Top Prospect Could Make Team's Roster Out of Spring Training /
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Wyatt Langford, who was drafted No. 4 by the Texas Rangers in last year's MLB Draft, could reportedly make the Opening Day roster this year after playing just 44 minor league games.

General Manager Chris Young said on Saturday that Langford has done everything he can to make the team, though he wouldn't commit to him being on the roster.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Langford has been building a strong case for his spot on the Rangers' Opening Day roster. Entering Saturday, Langford leads spring training batters in slugging percentage (.806), is tied with Freddie Freeman for most RBI (14), and is tied with Thomas Saggese for fourth-best batting average (.361)...

Langford's inclusion on the roster wouldn't be shocking, given those numbers, but would be shocking given little minor league seasoning he has gotten. He played just those 44 games, but vaulted all the way from rookie ball to Triple-A by the time 2023 ended. Langford also tore up whatever level he was playing at, hitting .360 with 10 homers in that action.

He enters baseball as the No. 6 prospect in the sport this year, right behind fellow Rangers' OF Evan Carter, who is also going to be the roster. They'll pair with Adolis Garcia to make quite the offensive trio.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

A complete package at the plate, Langford stands out most with his plus-plus power to all fields, which he generates with an easy right-handed stroke that lets him launch balls in the air. By letting his massive strength, electric bat speed and natural loft work for him without swinging for the fences, he makes consistent loud contact and projects as a .280 hitter with 35 or more homers per season. He makes sound swing decisions and controls the strike zone, walking more than he struck out during his college career and his first taste of pro ball.

The Rangers won the World Series in 2023 and open up the season on March 28.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.