Texas Rangers Rookie Emerged as Surprising 'Five-Tool' Player Last Season

The Texas Rangers top rookie from last season was already showing that he is a rare five-tool player.

Sep 27, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Texas Rangers center fielder Wyatt Langford (36) hits a two run home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers had a former first-round selection debut this past season and he has already proven to have a fantastic future.

MLB data account BrooksGate recently put together a list of the 'five-tool' players from last season. These are players that finished above average in all five categories for a position player: batting average, power, speed, fielding ability and arm strength.

Five-tool players are incredibly valuable and are often among the top players in the sport. There were just 17 MLB stars to reach this distinction last season and Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford was one of them.

Langford was always known to have the potential of a five-tool player, but for him to already being showing it in the Majors is a great development for Texas.

The 23-year-old finished seventh in voting for the AL Rookie of the Year, but that does not do his debut campaign justice.

He posted a .253/.325/.415 slash line with 16 home runs and 19 stolen bases. His biggest issue was his consistency. On a positive note, though, he did finish the year on a hot streak.

During the month of September, Langford had a .300/.386/.610 line with eight home runs and seven stolen bases. Keeping that pace for an entire year is unlikely, but it gives him outside potential of a 40/40 campaign at some point in his career. Certainly, a 30/30 season is a real possibilty as he matures.

The former Florida Gators star will likely hope to raise that batting average a bit next year. While it is solid, it is certainly closer to the median than he is in other categories.

That shouldn't be an issue for the slugger, as he has been able to hit for average at every stop. He finished college batting .363 and followed that up at .351 in the minors.

Langford hit at least 20 home runs in each of his last two college seasons. That is also something that really started to come into form down the stretch. There is a good chance he ends his career with 16 home runs being one of his lowest single-season totals.

His ability to steal bases is a bit newer. Swiping 19 bags as a rookie was a nice surprise.

Defensively, he held down left field for the Rangers. He finished with two outs above average and a fielding value of four. Baseball Savant has his arm strength within the 68th-percentile.

It's hard to argue against giving the Langford the title of a 'five-tool' player as he was indeed above average in every category he could be in just his first season.