Wyatt Langford's injury blessing in disguise as Rangers' outfielder struggles at plate

Look, you never want a player to get injured, no matter how small the injury but for Wyatt Langford's case it might end up be a saving grace for the Rangers' third-year outfielder.

Struggling at the plate, Langford is 9-for-53 (.170) to start the season and while he finally did hit his first home run of the year during Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Dodgers, it was dampened by the right quad strain that caused him to leave the game.

He was out of the lineup for the third straight game on Monday, the opening of a four game set in Sacramento, the 24-year-old is expected back in lineup on Tuesday. That stretch of rest might have given him some much needed rest and reflection.

Langford could use rest, recent injury as offensive boost

Ever since Langford was drafted fourth overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, the Florida native has dominated spring training while then following it up with a less than ideal start to the season.

His rookie season three years ago, Langford hit .191 in his first 34 games during the months of March, April and May. In that stretch, he drove in 13 runs, three doubles, one triple and a home run (which happened to be an inside-the-parker).

Langford then went to the injured list with a right hamstring strain and when he returned in at the end of May, he proceeded to hit .309 with a .368 on-base percentage, .526 slugging and an .894 OPS launching three home runs and 22 RBIs in 26 games in June.

Eventually he ended that year with 16 home runs, 74 RBIs, 25 doubles, 19 stolen bases and a .253 average in 134 games thanks to an electric final month of the year, which earned him the American League Player and Rookie of the Month.

Now, he finds himself in a similar situation. While he didn't go to the IL this time around, he has been able to take a handful of days off. That doesn't get to happen a lot of times and usually for a big leaguer those days can be a blessing in disguise that gets him rejuvenated and refocused for the road ahead.

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