Rangers' powerful lineup gets another boost as top prospect makes roster
The defending World Series champions are not worried about service time manipulation. They are worried about winning another championship and putting the best possible team on the field.
That became obvious on Friday when it was announced that top prospect — and 2023 No. 4 overall pick — Wyatt Langford made the roster.
Langford has rapidly become one of the best power-hitting prospects in all of baseball and has put on a show in spring training.
After a great career at the University of Florida, Langford posted monster numbers in his first year in the minors, hitting .360 with a 1.157 OPS across four different levels. He followed that up in spring training by hitting .388 with a 1.242 OPS entering play on Friday.
Those are MVP-caliber numbers and give him a sky's-the-limit potential as a hitter.
The Rangers finished the 2023 season third in the majors in runs scored (881) and fourth in home runs (233). Adding another potential star to that lineup makes them even more imposing for the rest of MLB.
It is also a refreshing twist for a team to reward its best young players and be willing to put them in the majors. Several teams are more concerned about limiting players' service time and trying to squeeze an extra season out of them before they are eligible for free agency.
That is what is happening with the Baltimore Orioles — also a contending team in the American League — as they will start top prospect Jackson Holliday in the minors.
It is understandable why smaller market teams with lower budgets and lower payrolls might want to go that route.
But if winning is the most important thing in the short term, and you have a player who can help you, you are cheating your fans and team by not putting the best possible roster on the field. The Rangers want the best team.
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