'He Worked His Tail Off.' Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford's Florida Gators Teammate Knew He Was On MLB Fast Track

While Wyatt Langford was in Houston with the Texas Rangers, one of his former Florida Gators teammates played in the MLB Futures Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

Jul 6, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford (36) during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Field. / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON — The irony wasn’t lost on Brandon Sproat. He reached a Major League park like Globe Life Field, and one of his college teammates from a year ago already calls it home.

It might bother him if the New York Mets pitching prospect said he hadn’t seen it coming for years at the University of Florida.

He knew Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford would play in the Majors one day. The fact that Langford made the Rangers’ Opening Day roster with just a handful of minor-league games under his belt didn’t surprise him a bit.

“The amount of work he put in and all the long days of just seeing him do that — he worked his tail off,” Sproat said, who now pitches for Double-A Binghamton in the Mets’ system. “We just knew it was a matter of time. We knew he was bound for the show.”

Sproat and Langford helped the Gators reach the College World Series championship last year, losing to LSU. While Langford went No. 4 overall to Texas, Sproat was taken in the second round by the Mets.

He was given the rest of 2023 off, which is typical for college pitchers who throw deep into June. Langford, meanwhile, blazed through the Rangers’ minor-league system and earned a minor-league invitation to Major League spring training in February.

“We watched him tear it up in spring training,” Sproat said. “All the (Florida) guys were just talking about it. We were like, ‘It wouldn’t surprise us if he made the team.’ Sure enough he did.”

After a rough start to the season and missing nearly a month due to a hamstring injury, Langford is playing well enough to be on the periphery of the AL Rookie of the Year conversation.

Batting .262 with five home runs and 40 RBI entering Saturday’s game with Houston, he’s been red-hot since a mid-June series with the New York Mets that has helped him boost his average from .236 to .267. Along the way he hit for the first cycle in the Majors this season, the 11th in Rangers history and the second by a Rangers rookie (Odibie McDowell).

He is also the first rookie to have a cycle, a grand slam, and an inside-the-park home run in MLB history.

Perhaps, one day, Sproat will face Langford. He’s already been promoted once this season and was 6-1 with a  1.71 ERA this season. He’s already the Mets’ No. 6 prospect per MLB.com and a potential 2025 call-up.