Former Florida Baseball star Wyatt Langford to make opening day MLB roster for Texas

There was a pathway that former Florida Baseball star Wyatt Langford was going to be drafted with the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, so it felt like the Texas Rangers got a potential steal when he fell to fourth. Langford hit .373 with 21 home runs in 2023 to bring the Gators within one game of winning the College World Series.

But even though he had star potential written all over him, his fast track to the big leagues onto the defending World Series champions has been remarkable and he got word he will be starting the 2024 season in Arlington.

Florida Baseball: He's Pretty Good

After getting drafted, Langford played 44 games with different Texas minor league affiliates, hitting .360 with ten home runs and an OPS of 1.157. This earned him an invite to Spring Training with Texas, and he has been nothing short of spectacular during the preseason circuit. As of this writing, he has had 53 at-bats, with an average of .377, six home runs, and an OPS of 1.118.

To give an idea of how rare it is for someone to fast track straight to the majors, Dylan Crews, the outfielder from LSU who was selected ahead of Langford, will be starting the season in the minors. Jacob Berry, the first college player selected in the 2022 draft, has yet to advance beyond AA. Henry Davis, the former catcher from Louisville who was the top overall pick from 2021, took two full years before getting called up.

For Langford he will have to continue to prove his worth as early struggled could get him sent back down to AAA given the club options that exist.

But if Langford can keep playing like all Gator fans know he is capable of, he should plan on keeping his bags unpacked in Arlington for a long time.