Rangers hope August surge shows Wyatt Langford has turned a corner

Fair or not, big things were expected from second-year veteran Wyatt Langford coming into this season.

Through the first four months, his performance was inconsistent. But in August, the power-hitting speedster has shown the organization that they made the right decision drafting him 4th overall in 2023.

Langford has been on a tear over the last four weeks

Since August 1, despite the team fading from playoff contention, Langford has been getting on base and scoring runs in a myriad of ways. He is riding a 17-game on-base streak and is getting around the bags like a man possessed.

He is 25-82 (.301) for the month and has lifted his average from .240 to .253, while mashing 6 doubles, 4 homers, and driving in 11 runs.

Still, the most impressive Langford stat from the month that should have Bruce Bochy and Rangers fans excited is the 19 walks and 17 runs he has scored in August, hitting ahead of Corey Seager in both the two-hole and leadoff.

He has lifted his on base percentage from .319 to .339 since the calendar flipped to August.

The Rangers know Langford can bash, but his plate discipline has been lacking

To be clear, Langford has had an unusual number of bad strike calls all season, but the Rangers are hoping that his OBP of .418 this month is a sign that the 23-year-old is developing a keen eye at the plate and also learning what the major league strike zone will look like moving forward.

Once Langford is on base, then it really opens things up for the Rangers as his speed and aggressive baserunning put more pressure on the opposing pitcher and the fielders. forcing bad pitches and errant throws.

It does help that guys like Seager and Adolis Garcia, Joc Pederson, and Ezequiel Duran are starting to barrel the ball more often and moving him over, but with Langford circling the bases in front of them, it doesn't require a bomb or extra base hit to put the Rangers in a position to score early in games.