Wyatt Langford makes Opening Day roster for Texas Rangers
University of Florida two-time All-American outfielder Wyatt Langford has made the Texas Rangers’ Opening Day MLB roster, as announced by manager Bruce Bochy on Friday.
Come Opening Day on Thursday, March 28, Langford will become the 83rd former Gator to debut in the MLB and the 31st to do so under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan – which is tied for tops in the sport. Langford is the first Gator to reach the Majors since Jacob Young did so on Aug. 26, 2023 with the Washington Nationals.
After being drafted fourth overall in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft by Texas, Langford rapidly ascended four levels of Minor League Baseball: Rookie, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. Collectively, the slugger slashed .360/.480/.677 with 10 homers and more walks (36) than strikeouts (34).
Langford’s MiLB performance earned him an invitation to 2024 MLB Spring Training, where he proceeded to hit .388 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 49 at bats. That was good for a 1.242 OPS and an eventual spot on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster.
Across his three-year Gators career from 2021-23, Langford garnered virtually every honor possible. The Trenton, Fla. native was a Unanimous First Team All-American in 2023, also being named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team, a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist and First Team All-SEC after hauling in All-American and All-SEC accolades as a sophomore in 2022.
All told, Langford batted .363/.471/.746 across 134 career games. He totaled 47 home runs, 37 doubles, 156 runs, 120 RBI and 16 stolen bases. His .746 career slugging percentage is the highest in UF baseball history. Langford was also reliable in the field, making just one career error in 233 chances for a .996 fielding percentage.
Wyatt Langford the latest Florida Gator to make it to the MLB
MLB Players Under O’SullivanPlayerDrafted (Round)MLB DebutTeam1Nick Maronde2011 (3rd)September 2, 2012Los Angeles Angels2Paco Rodriguez2012 (2nd)September 9, 2012Los Angeles Dodgers3Mike Zunino2012 (1st – 3rd overall)June 12, 2013Seattle Mariners4Kevin Chapman2010 (4th)August 9, 2013Houston Astros5Matt den Dekker2010 (5th)August 29, 2013New York Mets6Anthony DeSclafani2011 (6th)May 14, 2014Miami Marlins7Cole Figueroa2008 (6th)May 16, 2014Tampa Bay Rays8Preston Tucker2012 (7th)May 7, 2015Houston Astros9Brian Johnson2012 (1st – 31st overall)July 21, 2015Boston Red Sox10Nolan Fontana2012 (2nd)May 22, 2017Los Angeles Angels11Austin Maddox2012 (3rd)June 17, 2017Boston Red Sox12Harrison Bader2015 (3rd)July 25, 2017St. Louis Cardinals13Bobby Poyner2015 (14th)March 31, 2018Boston Red Sox14Justin Shafer2014 (8th)August 19, 2018Toronto Blue Jays15Eric Hanhold2015 (6th)September 4, 2018New York Mets16Richie Martin2015 (1st – 20th overall)March 28, 2019Baltimore Orioles17Pete Alonso2016 (2nd)March 28, 2019New York Mets18Shaun Anderson2016 (3rd)May 15, 2019San Francisco Giants19A.J. Puk2016 (1st – 6th overall)August 21, 2019Oakland Athletics20Brady Singer2018 (1st – 18th overall)July 25, 2020Kansas City Royals21Dane Dunning2016 (1st – 29th overall)August 19, 2020Chicago White Sox22Jonathan India2018 (1st – 5th overall)Thursday, April 1, 2021Cincinnati Reds23Jackson Kowar2018 (1st – 33rd overall)Monday, June 7, 2021Kansas City Royals24Taylor Gushue2014 (4th)Wednesday, June 30, 2021Chicago Cubs25Kirby Snead2016 (10th)Wednesday, July 28, 2021Toronto Blue Jays26Mark Kolozsvary2017 (7th)Wednesday, April 20, 2022Cincinnati Reds27Alex Faedo2017 (1st – 18th overall)Wednesday, May 4, 2022Detroit Tigers28Danny Young2015 (8th)Monday, May 9, 2022Seattle Mariners29Dalton Guthrie2017 (6th)Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022Philadelphia Phillies30Jacob Young2021 (7th)Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023Washington Nationals31Wyatt Langford2023 (1st – 4th overall)TBDTexas Rangers
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