With Spring Breakout games taking place over the next few days, the brightest young star might still be in Major League camp with the Texas Rangers. Former Florida star Wyatt Langford has been raking throughout spring training while fighting for a spot on the Opening Day roster.
Langford had four home runs heading into Thursday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. But he added another one in grand fashion in the fourth inning, blasting one to right center with the bases juiced. You can go ahead and add a grand slam to the list of Langford’s accomplishments over the last few weeks.
Occurring on a two-strike count as well, Langford continues to impress for the Rangers. At this point, general manager Chris Young may have a hard time leaving him off the Opening Day roster.
You can check out the full moment from Langford here.
As the Bally Bar indicated before the pitch, Langford was 0-2 with a foul out and a strikeout heading into his at-bat. He made no such mistake on his third plate appearance and drove in four runs with one swing of the bat.
Wyatt Langford pushing to make Texas Rangers Opening Day roster
The numbers for Langford through spring training are certainly eye-popping, hitting .371 through 35 at-bats. His five home runs are tied for the most in the Cactus League while nobody has more than his 14 RBIs. Langford’s OPS is an astonishing 1.281.
Heading into Spring Training, there was always a chance Langford could make the Texas Opening Day roster. The Rangers do have a full outfield though, returning three players from last year’s World Series run.
Fellow rookie Evan Carter occupied left field, Leody Taveres patroled in center, while Adolis Garcia had won the AL right field Gold Glove Award and crushed in the MLB playoffs. From a defensive standpoint, there is no room out there for Langford.
Designated hitter could be where Langford slots in, with his bat being too good to keep out of the lineup. And with short stop Corey Seager and third baseman Josh Jung dealing with injuries throughout spring, Texas could use some extra pop in their absence.
Texas will open on Thursday, March 28 against the Chicago Cubs. Langford is working his way toward being in Arlington with the Rangers instead of AAA Round Rock after being selected with the fourth overall pick last summer.
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