Wyatt Langford and who he is from the perspective of the Florida Gators Fansided Site

The Rangers made it official last night and drafted Wyatt Langford out of the University of Florida with their fourth pick. We gave our thoughts on the pick last night with this article. We did a question and answer exchange with our sister Fansided site Hail Florida Hail. If you want to read their questions for us, please click on this link. As part of the exchange Benjamin Henderson of Hail Florida Hail answered questions that we had for them about Wyatt Langford and what he brings to the Rangers organization.

What is Langford's best tool that he brings to the Rangers organization?

Benjamin: He’s fiery but humble. He's not someone who is going to showboat for the sake of showboating, but when the moment calls for it he is going to unleash passion to let you know it was a big moment (see his homerun against Virginia in the CWS).

Do you think he sticks in center long-term or is a corner outfielder? 

Benjamin: He will need to develop before we can give the vote of confidence to be a center fielder. He was most comfortable as a left fielder and all the highlights you will find of him in the outfield will be from left field. Florida moved him to centerfield to help get another offensive bat in the lineup. Langford never seemed comfortable {in center} and did not handle himself at a level that will make it at the MLB level.

Did Langford have any injury issues in his time at Florida?

Benjamin: Not really. He missed time this year, but only because he hit a foul ball off his groin. He would have had to have been Superman to not miss time from that.

What is one area of his game that Langford needs to work on as he enters professional baseball? 

Benjamin: It's hard to project because as a hitter he seems to have little weakness. His homeruns dropped from 26 to 21 this season despite an extended postseason run, but his on-base percentage jumped 50 points because he upped his walks from 36 to 56 and upped his doubles from 9 to 28.

The question mark for Langford relate more to the field. As mentioned above, he handles himself well in left field. But if asked to play centerfield it is hard to say that he would handle himself at a level acceptable for MLB.

What are fans going to love the most about Langford once he reaches Arlington? 

Benjamin: Dude plays his tail off and he is not rattled by much. The level of intensity in an SEC game is far greater than say a Tuesday night game between Oakland and Kansas City. So if Texas rolls into Houston with the division on the line, Langford is not going to be intimidated by the moment. He's going to be a good locker room guy and Texas fans are going to fall in love with him.



Thank you to Benjamin for answering my questions. If you want to visit his site click on this link. The MLB Draft continues on Monday and Tuesday and will be streamed live on MLB.com for Rounds 3-10 on Monday and 11-20 on Tuesday.