Florida Gators outfielder Wyatt Langford selected by Texas Rangers in 2023 MLB Draft
Florida Gators outfielder Wyatt Langford has been selected with the four overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers.
In 2023, Wyatt Langford was a key player on Florida’s run to the College World Series Final. In that final against LSU, he added seven hits, two of which were home runs for a total of eight RBIs on the series. However, that was in a losing effort.
For the season, he hit .373 with 21 home runs. That was good for a home run every 11. 24 at-bats. On the defensive side of the ball, Langford only had one error in the outfield. This made him a Second Team All-American and a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist.
Wyatt Langford is known for having a unique swing. That led MLB Network analyst Dan O’Down to compare him to a unicorn.
“What I like about him are his short arms. His short arms, I feel, makes him so direct and quick to the ball that he can even be fooled with a pitch and still do damage with it. He looks different than a high pick. Like when you try to do a player comp on him, he looks like a Brian Downing. It’s not a real easy comp but I wouldn’t discount the fact that he also has electric hand speed and he’s very, very direct to the ball and he gets unique lag because it doesn’t really go into a lag position. It’s more from the head directly to the ball,” O’Dowd said.
“So, he’s like a unicorn. He’s a different looking player.”
More on the 2023 MLB Draft
The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.
This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.
While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.
Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.
In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.
Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.