Texas Rangers GM on Wyatt Langford: “The perfect fit for what we’re building here”
The Texas Rangers introduced Wyatt Langford, the teams’ first selection in the 2023 MLB Draft, to the media on Tuesday.
General Manager Chris Young and Senior Director of Amateur Scouting Kip Fagg said they were overjoyed to add Langford to the organization.
“We think he’s the perfect fit for what we’re building here; who he is as a person, his winning pedigree and certainly the talent as a player,” Young said.
Langford was selected with the fourth pick in the draft from the University of Florida. He said he felt like he was just playing for the Gators in the College World Series a few days ago.
“It’s all happened so fast, I feel like I was in the middle of my season just a few days ago,” said Langford, “This moment is finally here it feels a little surreal right now, but I’m super excited to just be here.”
Fagg said it was who Langford was as a person that separated him from other top draft prospects.
“The story he came from, the hard work, the dedication is what we’re about here at the Rangers and he fits very well,” said Fagg, “We’re going to win championships here and Wyatt is going to be a big part of that.”
Langford played only four games as a true freshman before evolving into a star over his final two seasons at Florida. Fagg said the Rangers started to pay attention to Langford during his breakout sophomore campaign.
“The year he had as a sophomore was eye-opening,” said Fagg, “Not many guys have that path that Wyatt had, don’t play that much as a freshman and perform like he did as a sophomore.”
It was during his sophomore season that Langford said he realized his potential.
“I’d say probably about halfway through my sophomore year when I was playing really well and people started talking and stuff like that I kinda realized hey, I had a real shot,” said Langford.
Langford was even better during his junior season, helping lead Florida to the 2023 College World Series Final while being selected to the College World Series All-Tournament Team.
The Rangers were excited but not surprised to see Langford perform on the biggest stage and felt they knew the caliber of player he was.
“We put so much time and effort in scouting Wyatt that’s like the icing on the cake at the end,” said Fagg, “Probably our minds were made up before that but it’s always good to see, and makes you feel a little better that he’s out there performing on a big stage.”
Langford is excited to show Rangers fans what type of player he is.
“I want everyone to know I’m just a hard worker, I go out there and give it my best effort every time I’m out on the field,” said Langford.
Langford is already one of the top prospects in the majors days into his professional career. Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the No. 5 prospect in baseball and Baseball America has him ranked at No. 11.
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 3:28 PM.
