Get to know No. 6 overall prospect Wyatt Langford

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers likely have the favorite in the AL Rookie of the Year race in Evan Carter entering 2024, but the club could end up with two candidates for the award if Wyatt Langford has anything to say about it.

The No. 6 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline -- one spot behind Carter -- Langford burst onto the scene in his professional debut, slashing .360/.480/.677 in his first 44 Minor League games across four levels, capping off his year with Triple-A Round Rock.

The 21-year-old fielded questions from reporters ahead of the Rangers Fan Fest at Globe Life Field on Saturday. Here’s what he had to say:

MLB.com: How’s the offseason been? What’s your level of anticipation and excitement going into Spring Training?

Langford: It's a little different than what I'm used to. It's a little bit longer so had to get adjusted to that. … I'm super excited. I mean, I feel like I've gotten a lot accomplished this offseason. And I'm ready to get back to playing baseball.

MLB.com: Bruce Bochy said he talked to you. So it was kind of in a group setting but what did the manager have to say today?

Langford: Yeah it was me and a couple other guys. We got to sit down and meet with Bruce. I think we talked for about an hour and a half and it was really good just to soak up all the knowledge he has. I mean, Hall of Fame coach, so he had a lot to say. It was good to sit back and listen to it all.

MLB.com: What did the time in the Minors do for you last year just getting used to the professional level? What did it do for you? What do you learn about yourself?

Langford: It did a lot. I mean, it's a totally different game, college versus professional playing every single day and I learned a lot about my body and what I needed to do to prepare every day. So I think that that's helped me kind of figure out what I need to do to get ready to play.

MLB.com: In the Minor Leagues, was there a teammate that you gravitated towards to help you with those adjustments?

Langford: There was a couple, but I mean, it's tough when I was bouncing around a bunch. I'd say one of the guys that I talked to the most probably was Cam Cauley. I was in High-A for the most part and he was on the team with me, so I talked to him a bunch.

MLB.com: It looked easy for you, was it as easy as it looked by the box scores?

Langford: I mean, it was definitely an adjustment. There were a couple times I ran a little into a little skid. I got to some points where my body didn’t feel great. So I had to figure out just some things I had to do like in the training room or something like that to make sure my body was ready to play every day.

MLB.com: Do you block it out or do you even know that people are talking about you so much?

Langford: I mean, I don't really give it too much attention to that kind of thing. I just try and go about it the way I always have and just approach the game the best way I can, give it everything I have and just work as hard as I can to be the best player I can be.

MLB.com: Can you put into perspective just what the last six or seven months have been like for you?

Langford: It's been a whirlwind. It's been insane honestly. I mean, at the turn of the new year, I kind of just -- I tried to take some time to just kind of realize what happened all last year and just take it all in and just be thankful for all that happened.

MLB.com: You hit so well at Florida and then in the Minors. When you were a kid, did you just naturally hit the ball well or did something click at some point? Was there a moment that you became the hitter that you are now?

Langford: I mean, I've always been a pretty good hitter. I feel like anyone that's made it to this stage, at a young age, you kind of figure it out that you're standing out a little bit and stuff like that. It's baseball. Everyone goes through a little rough patch. Usually you have to take a step back and look back at what you're doing right now and what you've done in the past to help find success.

MLB.com: Was this offseason more about refinement or were there some definite things that you needed to improve on?

Langford: It was really more about just continuing to work on my strength and just being myself. I mean, I should continue to do the things that I do well and just get stronger in the weight room. I didn't really change much about my swing or anything like that. I've just been doing the same thing day in and day out.

MLB.com: Going into Spring Training, by all accounts it seems like you'd have a chance to compete for a Major League roster spot. Is that wild to process given how recently you've just started pro ball?

Langford: It's definitely crazy. All of this is crazy. Really. You can't really think this up but yeah, I mean, it's awesome to have that opportunity. I'm not trying to do anything too much. I'm just gonna go out there and just play the game and try to take in a bunch of knowledge from those older guys.