Rangers' No. 4 pick lets his play do the talking

This story was originally published on July 6. We have updated it to reflect Wyatt Langford being drafted No. 4 overall by the Rangers.

The first thing you might notice about Wyatt Langford if you ever get the chance to sit down with him is that he isn't one for many words. He keeps his response to any question concise, and he speaks in a low, polite tone.

His bat, though -- well, that's a different story. And that's exactly how the 21-year-old wants it to be.

In his own words, "I don't really like to talk much. I like to let my play on the field do the talking." And his performance was nothing shy of a lion's roar as he prepped for the MLB Draft, where he was selected with the No. 4 pick by the Rangers on Sunday.

The No. 3 Draft prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Langford was mentioned as a potential top overall pick heading into the Draft. But the destination is second to the opportunity for the Trenton, Fla., native.

"I think I'll feel great about wherever I go," he said. "I'm not really a showy guy. I just want to go play baseball."

And his track record would indicate that all the 6-foot-1, robust 225-pounder needs is an opportunity. A three-sport star in high school -- football, basketball and baseball -- Langford won a football state title playing on the team as an eighth grader, and he played varsity baseball for six years.

But a logjam his freshman season at Florida -- coupled with the coronavirus pandemic -- limited his opportunity to four pinch-hit at-bats, in which he recorded one infield single.

"It was definitely hard, and I missed that summer and the following spring because of covid," Langford said. "I went a really long time without playing baseball, honestly. So, it was tough just watching, but it taught me just to work harder and keep doing what I was doing and I knew my time would come."

Langford's time came during his sophomore campaign last year and he didn't miss a beat. The outfielder with 65-grade power earned All-American status by leading the SEC and tying Matt LaPorta’s single-season Gators record with 26 home runs while finishing with a .356/.447/.719 slash line and 63 RBIs over 66 games.

He then outdid himself for an encore this past season -- slashing .373/.498/.784 with 21 dingers, three triples, 28 doubles, 57 RBIs and 83 runs scored in 64 games played -- while mashing the two longest balls hit in the history of the College World Series.

In the opening round of the tournament, Langford stepped to the plate in the ninth inning with the Gators down a run. Hitless in his three at-bats prior, Langford -- known as Trenton Thunder -- sent the ball soaring 456 feet at 112 mph for the longest home run ever recorded at Charles Schwab Field.

Even a rare show of emotion followed.

"It’s kind of hard to describe that moment," Langford said. "It’s kind of like what you play for, to make it to the World Series and play in those close games. So, I mean, it was a great experience for me and I honestly kind of blacked out when I did it, I think. That’s kind of why I acted like that. But it was great."

With his team's back against the wall in Game 2 of the MCWS Final, Langford turned in his best performance to date: going a perfect 5-for-5 with six RBIs, four runs scored and (for good measure) the second-longest homer at Charles Schwab Field -- a three-run jack that soared 449 feet and 114.4 mph off the bat.

His performance helped the Gators force a winner-take-all Game 3 for the National Championship, and despite bashing his 21st tater of the year in that game, it was not enough as the LSU Tigers cruised to an 18-4 victory.

"I was just trying my best to take it all in and just have fun. Just cause, you know, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Langford said. "It was amazing. Going into it I thought I had a pretty good idea of what it was going to be like and what to expect, but it blew my expectations out of the water.

"We made it to the last game. We played as long as we could. We just didn't win the last one."

And on Sunday, opportunity again knocked for the slugger, who wasn't on-site in Seattle but rather back home in Florida with his close friends and family as he waited to hear his name called by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

"I'm excited about just taking that next step and doing something a little different," Langford said. "I felt like my time at Florida was really good, but I feel like that time has just come to an end and I’m just ready to move on."

And his message for the fans of the team that selects him?

"I’m ready to get to work," he said.

When asked if those fans should expect to see him sooner than later, Langford didn't say a word. He simply smiled and nodded.