Texas Rangers Top Prospect Wyatt Langford Collects First Spring Hit, Shows Off Impressive Arm
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — If no video footage exists, did anything really happen in 2024?
In this case, absolutely.
Texas Rangers top prospect Wyatt Langford collected the first spring training hit of his career, a hot shot on the ground through the left side in the sixth inning.
It came on a 2-1, 93 mph four-seam fastball from Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Scott McGough. The single had an estimated exit velocity of 103.5 mph.
Langford, the No. 4 overall pick in July's MLB draft, started his first spring training 0 for 7 with four strikeouts, including two swinging in his first two at-bats on Tuesday at Salt River Fields. In the fourth inning, Langford fouled off three pitches before taking the eighth pitch of the at-bat off his upper body. He later scored on Leody Taveras' sacrifice fly to left. The Rangers won the Cactus League rematch of 2023 World Series foes, 10-3.
"That's always good," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of Langford's first hit. "I'm sure he's glad to get it out of the way. After a while, people start talking about it. But he's going to get his at-bats, so that's why we're here."
Bochy was joking about "people talking" about the fast-rising star who is rated MLB's No. 6 prospect. But social media chatter had, indeed, already begun to take a dark turn from mostly uninformed negative nellies. Langford, 22, had 200 professional plate appearances from his two months in the minors last summer before playing his first spring game on Friday.
Langford showed his bat is not his only plus-plus skill. He nearly threw out Ketel Marte on a sacrifice fly to left field in the first inning.
"I'm hoping he gets a lot of balls out there. We'd like to see him get some action, and he was accurate," Bochy said. "He's too good an athlete. He runs really well, and he's got a good [throwing] release and accurate arm, so you know that works. He got rid of it [quickly]. Credit to Wyatt; he didn't just assume he was going to score. He gave a good effort, and it was close."
Bochy compared Langford's playing time in left this spring to Evan Carter, who started in right field Tuesday. Carter threw out Jose Herrera at home to end the fifth inning with Jack Leiter on the mound. Catcher Andrew Knapp made a quick swing around to his left to tag Herrera. Carter was forced into playing both corner outfield spots after being called up for his MLB debut in September.
"That's why I want [Langford] to get reps out there. We'll continue to give him work. like all of them," Bochy said. "Carter hadn't played a lot of left, and we had to work him there a lot last year, and now we're going to do the same with Wyatt. So it's all about every day working on it. Nobody works harder than he does."
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