Josh Sborz Reacts After Facing Texas Rangers Top Prospect Wyatt Langford For First Time
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Josh Sborz got right to the point.
Wyatt Langford "can hit the crap out of the ball."
That was the Texas Rangers reliever's assessment after facing Langford, the Rangers' top prospect, during batting practice on Tuesday.
"That's why he's here, right," Sborz said. "I threw a bad pitch, and he hit it hard. That's kind of what you expect. He hit a ball 105 [mph] on the ground. Maybe an out, maybe not."
Langford also faced left-hander Andrew Heaney several times on Tuesday and laid off an offspeed pitch down in the zone to earn a walk.
Langford was the No. 4-overall pick in last July's MLB draft and shot through the Rangers' farm system in less than two months. Manager Bruce Bochy and general manager Chris Young have been open about Langford's opportunity to make the opening-day roster despite his inexperience. He turned 21 in November.
Langford batted .360 with 17 doubles, 10 home runs, 30 RBIs in 44 minor league games. He stole 12 bases and had 58 hits in 200 plate appearances.
"You can't ignore the year that he had and what the possibilities are at some point with him. I can't answer that right now, but these guys are impact-type players," Bochy said of Langford and rookie Evan Carter. "It's a rare deal when you have two players like this knocking on the door."
What if there isn't a clear position opening for Langford?
"That's not a hurdle," he said. If there's no open position, one option would be to use Langford as the designated hitter while also giving the outfielders a day off, Bochy said.
"We're staying open-minded. We're going to break with our best squad and that's why he's here, be honest. I don't think we're not ruling out anything."
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