Offseason Deep Dives: Wyatt Langford

Wyatt Langford entered spring training last year with just 44 games of professional experience under his belt, and only 17 of those came above A-ball. However, it became apparent that the Rangers were clearing a runway for him to make the Opening Day roster, and that became official after he tore up Cactus League pitching to the tune of a .365/.423/.714 batting line with six home runs and 20 RBI in 21 games.

Langford was taken fourth overall in the 2023 draft and was viewed as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, with our own James Anderson putting him at the top of his list. Expectations were high, and while his ADP ultimately settled in around 150, some popped him inside the top 100 picks.

On the whole, it's fair to say Langford had a good-not-great rookie season, as he finished with a .253/.325/.415 slash line with 16 home runs, 74 RBI, 74 runs, 19 stolen bases, a 110 wRC+ and .321 wOBA. That was good enough to rank him 81st overall and 25th among outfielders, so he paid off as a fantasy investment.

Langford's production came in waves. He got off to a horrendous start, slashing just .224/.295/.293 through his first 31 games before going down with a hamstring injury which cost him more than three weeks of action. Langford perked up in June, hitting .309/.368/.526, but quickly stumbled back to a .216/.293/.335 line in July and August. Then came September, when Langford started looking like the superstar everyone thought he could be.

Notice the difference in the launch angle from April-August to September. Normally, we want hitters to loft the ball in the air more. That's where the damage is. However, if you're not hitting the ball with authority, hitting it in the air doesn't do you any good. Langford and offensive coordinator/bench coach Donnie Ecker noted early on in the season that the rookie was working on leveling out his swing and not keeping too much weight on his back foot. It certainly took longer than expected, but Langford's work finally began bearing fruit during the final month of the season. His launch angle in September of 11 degrees was his lowest in any month during his rookie year.

While Langford actually fared a bit worse against fastballs in September, where you could really notice a difference in how he impacted the ball was in his work versus breaking balls.

It may seem a bit counterintuitive, as you always hear players and coaches talking about staying back to wait for the breaking ball, while Langford was trying not to stay back too much and it eventually helped him thrive against spin. I don't profess to be a hitting coach, but it seems to be a balance thing and staying square to the ball which was the impetus behind Langford's turnaround against breaking pitches. Whatever it was, it clearly worked.

Not only did Langford club half of his home runs on the season in September, but he also went a perfect 7-for-7 on stolen-base attempts that month. The 23-year-old ranked in the 98th percentile in sprint speed, and a 9.2 percent walk rate and 20.6 percent strikeout rate show some on-base aptitude with the potential for growth as he settles in at the major-league level. A lot of what goes into stealing bases is desire, both from the player's and the team's perspective, but strictly from an ability standpoint Langford might have just scratched the surface of his stolen-base upside in 2024.

Langford batted third for the Rangers in 17 of the last 18 games of the 2024 season, occupying the two hole in the other contest. The three spot is where we have Langford projected to slot in for Texas in 2025, with Marcus Semien and Corey Seager hitting ahead of him and Joc Pederson (versus righties) and Adolis Garcia (versus lefties) hitting behind him. The Rangers' offense finished a disappointing 18th in runs scored in 2024 after leading the American League in runs in 2023. Even if the offense doesn't bounce back in 2025, the three spot would still be a prime run-producing spot for Langford.

Globe Life Field is also a mark in Langford's favor. The Rangers' home venue ranks a solid 12th overall for right-handed batters over the last three seasons, per Baseball Savant's Park Factors. However, it jumps all the way up to fourth for home runs, trailing only Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium and Great American Ball Park.

How much of what Langford did in September was simply a hot month and how much was him cashing in on his enormous potential? I suspect I'm like most of you and lean more toward the latter, but we can't forget that he was hitting a paltry .241/.309/.366 with just eight homers heading into September and was unusable in fantasy for four of six months. The reality, as usual, probably lies somewhere in between.

Early rankings and ADP suggest the buy-in on Langford is widespread, which doesn't come as a surprise. In the RotoWire Roundtable Rankings, he comes in as the 46th overall player and 15th outfielder. His current NFBC ADP is 51.84, with a min pick of 24 and max pick of 151 (good luck getting him that late).