‘I just saw the best player on the field’: Wyatt Langford is turning heads with every thunderous swing of his bat
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
SURPRISE, Arizona — During the first week of spring training, Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux returned to the team’s clubhouse after watching a live batting practice session and declared: “I just saw the best player on the field.” The room of coaches and assorted personnel perked up. The Rangers came into camp off a World Series title but with questionable starting pitching depth, and they were hopeful Maddux, a coach for 20 seasons, had unearthed his latest gem on the mound.
“Wyatt Langford,” Maddux said.
Langford is not a pitcher. He is a 6-foot-1, 225-pound power-hitting outfielder, and for a pitching coach — particularly one of Maddux’s stature — to gravitate so quickly to Langford provided the latest evidence that the defending champions’ offense could be even better this year.
Maddux’s answer surprised no one internally. After sliding to Texas at the No. 4 pick in a loaded 2023 draft, Langford, now 22, spent two months destroying four minor league levels, hitting .360/.480/.677 with 10 home runs in 200 plate appearances. He arrived this spring “in real competition to make the club,” according to Texas general manager Chris Young, and only the Rangers’ outfield excellence stands between Langford and an every-day big league role.
“I know if I do what I can do,” Langford said, “they’ll give me the opportunity to showcase that.”
Langford’s right-handed swing has impressed the Rangers so thoroughly that he was under substantial consideration to make his major league debut during the playoffs last year. Toward the end of the regular season, with right fielder Adolis Garcia injured, the Rangers discussed promoting Langford to fill out an already-dangerous lineup. They weren’t afraid of his age or inexperience. As ably as rookie Evan Carter was already garnering headlines with his impressive play, adding Langford to Carter and center fielder Leody Taveras would’ve provided a needed offensive boost.
Garcia returned, of course, going on a legendary hot streak that netted him American League Championship Series MVP honors. But Langford remained around the team during the postseason, joining the Rangers’ so-called “stay-ready squad” in case of injuries. Quickly, he distinguished himself.
The group would gather at Globe Life Field in the morning and take live at-bats. Among those on the mound were Jack Leiter, Owen White and Cole Winn, the best pitching prospects in the Rangers’ organization. Danny Duffy, a World Series champion for the 2015 Kansas City Royals with Young as his teammate, was there and already had a deep respect for Langford after playing with him in Double-A during Duffy’s attempt at a return to the big leagues.
“I got him out once, and it was the first pitch I ever threw him,” Duffy said. “It was a changeup. I didn’t want to challenge him right there. Ball was flying. I hadn’t given up a homer all year, and he wasn’t about to be my first, but he just missed one. Hit it like 400 feet in the air to the middle of center field. If he would’ve clipped it, it would’ve gone to the Embassy Suites.”
Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, then trying to return from an injury, didn’t know who Langford was before he faced him during a live batting practice in October. Scherzer learned quickly when Langford hammered a double off the wall. As the month went on and the Rangers cruised to the AL pennant, Langford continued to flabbergast onlookers, consistently barreling balls at 110 mph-plus, territory typically reserved for elite major league hitters. While the stay-ready crew was sent home after Game 1 of the World Series, Garcia’s oblique injury suffered in Game 3 reignited the chatter among Rangers personnel to summon Langford.
“He was right there in the conversation,” Texas bench coach Donnie Ecker said. “And if he did play, he was going right in the 3-hole.”
“I don’t know if he would’ve hit third, to be honest,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said, “but watching him in the live BPs was impressive. The numbers, what he was doing, was incredible. You can’t ignore that. And then you get to know the man and he’s got no fear. And you saw what Carter did. And so, we had that to go on too that, hey, these guys are different, these young kids. And so, we didn’t think he’d be afraid. That’s why it was legit, why he was with us.
“Looking back, I mean, it actually would’ve been pretty cool to see.”
Ultimately, Texas chose to give veteran Travis Jankowski the left-field slot and elevate utility man Ezequiel Duran to the active roster. Both had been there all year. They were capable, game-tested. With a 2-1 lead in the Series and home-field advantage, the Rangers didn’t feel the need to push the envelope. The prospect of Langford in the lineup, though, remained in their thoughts. During the celebration after the Rangers’ championship-clinching Game 5, one coach, already looking forward to 2024, said: “And we’re going to have Langford next year, too.”
“It wasn’t just the performance or the results in the minor leagues,” Young said. “It was the process metrics, which we value, that suggested he could come up and have success. His exit velos were extremely high. His chase rate was extremely low. He was walking. He was showing elite discipline. It’s everything we saw when we drafted him — and he’d also performed on the biggest stage in college baseball.
“When you take that into account, the moment wasn’t going to be too big for him.”
Langford had laid waste to college baseball over the previous two years, going from a backup catcher who got four at-bats as a freshman at Florida to arguably the most productive hitter in the country. As a sophomore, Langford hit an SEC-leading 26 home runs with a 1.166 OPS. His follow-up was even better: While his home run total dropped to 21, Langford hit 19 more doubles as a junior and walked 20 more times while maintaining his strikeout rate. His season ended just one win short of a College World Series title.
As much as he would’ve enjoyed being the first position player to participate in the College World Series and the World Series in the same season, Langford saw 2023 as a grand success — one he spent the offseason trying to replicate as he trained with hopes of convincing the Rangers he would be ready this spring. Because Langford understands that dominating in college and the minors guarantees nothing at the major league level, he has used the early goings of spring training to pick the brains of veterans Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Jung — Langford’s spring roommate — to better understand the fundamentals of playing his first 162-game season.
“The biggest goal is just to learn as much as I can, make sure to just be myself and go out there and play and have fun,” Langford said. “If it happens, then awesome. If not, then I’ll go to wherever they send me to and do the best I can.
“I know if I do what I can do, they’ll give me the opportunity to showcase that.”
When he gets that chance might depend on the Rangers’ needs. With Jung and shortstop Corey Seager sidelined, they could use their 26th roster spot for a utility man to open the season. What’s clear is that the Rangers won’t keep Langford down just to keep him down — not with MLB’s rules that award a full year of service time to top rookies and incentivize teams to promote them by giving draft picks.
Especially if Rangers coaches continue to see him as the best player on the field.
“He will tell us when he’s ready,” Young said, “and if that’s now, it’s now.”
It’s 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby day in Atlanta!
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replaced Ronald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
MLB Home Run Derby field
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (38 home runs in 2025)
James Wood, Washington Nationals (24)
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (23)
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (21)
Brent Rooker, Athletics (20)
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (17)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees (17)
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
Live updates
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
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