Who is Wyatt Langford, the Texas Rangers’ first-round pick of the MLB Draft?

With the fourth pick in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, the Rangers selected outfielder Wyatt Langford from the University of Florida.

The outfielder is a power-hitter who played three sports in high school at Trenton High School in Trenton, Fla.

As a sophomore, Langford was an All-American after leading the SEC with 26 home runs. That tied him for the program single-season record, which was broken by teammate Jac Caglianone this year when he hit 33.

At the College World Series, where the Gators finished second, he hit three 400-foot home runs.

According to MLB.com, Langford has five-tool potential. The site calls his swing mechanics excellent with a very good approach at the plate. It limited his strikeouts and increased his walks.

His raw power is an important addition to Texas’ farm system.

He has a history of playing at third base and catcher, but has found a home in the outfield with Florida.

Langford was the first Gator drafted this year, however, the SEC was well-represented. In the top four picks, three were from the SEC. The first two came from LSU in the form of pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews.

After selecting Langford, the Texas Rangers do not have another draft selection until Monday’s fourth-round selection.

The Rangers forfeited their second- and third-round picks because they signed two “qualified free agents” during the offseason.

Jacob deGrom was the first qualified free agent that kept the Rangers from their next two picks. This one hurts, because the right-handed pitcher was dominant while he was with the New York Mets, but his career has been riddled with injuries, which carried over to Texas.

It was announced in early June that deGrom would undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. He only started six games, throwing 30.1 innings in 2023 and picking up 45 strikeouts while maintaining a 2.67 earned run average.

The Rangers took a big chance on signing deGrom with his high injury risk, and the bad news of him being out for the rest of this season hurts a little bit more knowing the Rangers won’t be able to get a young prospect in the draft because of the singing.

Nathan Eovaldi was the other qualified free agent the Rangers signed that prevented them from keeping their early-round pick.

This move looks better in hindsight as Eovaldi could be the starting pitcher for the 2023 MLB All-Star Game after two-way star Shohei Ohtani announced he wouldn’t start on the mound for the American League All-Stars.

For the Rangers, Eovaldi has thrown 117.2 innings in 18 starts, racking up 109 strikeouts while holding a 2.83 earned run average.

Rounds 3-10 occurred Monday; rounds 11-20 occur on Tuesday.

Round 4

The Rangers, with their second pick of the draft, selected right-handed pitcher Skylar Hales from Santa Clara University.

Hales is unranked by MLB.com, but appeared in 51 games over his three-year career at Santa Clara. He accumulated 156 innings pitched, collecting 168 strikeouts and had a 4.38 earned run average.

The pitcher started 12 games in the 15 he appeared in from the 2021-2022 season, but looks like he moved back to the bullpen last season. He appeared 22 times, but only started in one game. He collected his only four saves of his career in that last season.

In 2023, Hales earned Second Team All-WCC and WCC Pitcher of the Week on March 13.

Round 5

With the 144th pick of the draft, the Rangers selected Alejandro Rosario, a right-handed pitcher from Miami.

Rosario has “pure stuff,” according to MLB.com’s analysis. His fastball can reach triple digits on the radar, but he doesn’t have anything to fool the batter. That prevents his fastball from being ultra effective.

He also carries a slider that sits around the low-80s and a changeup that can reach the upper-80s on the radar.

Last year, for the Hurricanes, Rosario pitched in 17 games, starting 14 of them. He tallied 85 strikeouts in 68.2 innings.

However, he did walk 39 batters and gave up 56 earned runs, leaving him with a 7.34 earned run average on the season.

The fast-throwing pitcher can add to the bullpen in the near future for the Rangers, which is one of the few aspects that is holding them from leaving the American League West division in the dust.

However, it will take some development, as Rosario seems to have the same struggles the current bullpen staff is having trouble with this year.

Round 6

With pick 171, Texas got another pitcher.

Caden Scarborough is a 6-foot-5 right-hander from Harmony High School.

The pitcher is committed to Dallas Baptist University, according to Perfect Game. They also have him ranked as a top-1000 right-handed pitcher in the nation and the 109th best in Florida.

According to maxpreps, Scarborough held a 2.19 earned run average and tallied 70 strikeouts through 38.1 innings pitched. He usually threw 2-5 innings in each appearance.

Round 7

The Rangers continued with the trend of adding pitching prospects, selecting Izack Tiger from Butler County Community College as the 201st pick.

Tiger is another right-handed pitcher, who threw 192 innings in 37 career appearances. He was the starting pitcher in 35 of those games. He struck out 243 batters and held a 3.84 earned run average.

Tiger also played in the Cape Cod Summer League in 2023, where he started three games, racking up 15 strikeouts in 12.1 innings. He had a 7.30 earned run average.

Round 8

With the 231st pick, Texas broke the streak of pitchers, selecting Julian Brock, a catcher from University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

He is ranked 122 by MLB.com, who said he has improved his power and patience at the plate. His swing can be a concern because of the length, but it produces a lot of raw power.

He couples with the Rangers’ first-round pick Wyatt Langford, who has a lot of raw power, as well.

He was compared to Paul Bako and Jonathan Lucroy, who both also graduated from Louisiana-Lafayette. Lucroy also had a stint with Texas after playing many years for the Brewers. He has also done well controlling the strike zone and waiting for a good pitch to hit, making for quality at-bats.

Last year, he started in 63 games, hit 11 home runs and finished with a .315 batting average.

Brock has low speed, but it’s to be expected as a 6-foot-3, 220-pound catcher.

As a defender, he can block really well, but could use some improvement on his receiving skills. He also has a good arm with a solid pop-time.

Round 9

The Rangers went with an outfielder from Palomar College in Quincy Scott.

He played in 41 games, averaging .438 with six home runs and 52 RBI. He also had eight stolen bases.

The 6-foot-4 product from San Marcos, California hits right and throws right. On fieldlevel.com, Scott announced he is committed to move on to the University of California at Santa Barbara, so he’ll have a decision to make between the big leagues or another couple of collegiate years to boost his stock.

The MLB stream of the draft commended his pre-draft workout that helped increase his value.

Round 10

With the Rangers’ final pick of day two, Texas selected right-handed pitcher Case Matter 291st overall.

Matter was a 2023 PAC-12 Honorable Mention while playing at Washington. He needs to work on some command, striking out 34 and walking 22.

He made 19 appearances on the mound, but only one was a start. He ranked ninth in the PAC-12 with five saves and ended with a 3.91 earned run average after 25.1 innings of work.

Opponents only had a .191 batting average when facing him. He also gave up zero earned runs in 15 of his 19 appearances.

His last appearance was in the NCAA Stillwater Regional against Dallas Baptist University. He threw one inning, gave up three runs on three hits and walked two.

Day 3

Texas will have the seventh pick for the remaining rounds 11-20, which will take place on Tuesday. Coverage will start at 1 p.m. central time on MLB.com.