Rangers could call up this year’s first-round pick for pennant chase

2023-09-18 10:56

As the season ticks down with a close race in the AL West, could the Texas Rangers call up recent No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft in hopes of creating momentum to lead to their first playoff berth since 2016?

During the 2023 MLB Draft, the Texas Rangers selected Wyatt Langford with the No. 4 overall pick. They started him in rookie ball, where he played three games before getting called up to A+. He was then able to work up to Double-A Frisco.

On Sept. 17, Frisco finished their final game of the season, and it was then reported by Evan Grant that Langford was being promoted to Triple-A to play for the Round Rock Express. He is expected to play for them on Tuesday, Sept. 19, against the Tacoma Rainiers, which is their next scheduled game.

With only 13 games left to play in the season, one might wonder if the Texas Rangers are accelerating Wyatt Langford's Minor League career in an attempt to have him assist them in the pennant chase. Langford has excelled at every level of the minor leagues he has played in, contributing to his teams' victories.

Wyatt Langford minor league career thus far

He began his professional career by playing with the Texas Rangers' Arizona Complex League team and participated in three games. During that time, he posted impressive stats, hitting .385 with a home run, four RBIs, one walk to combine for a OBP of .429, and a wRC+ of 194.

Following this, Langford was called up to A+ to play with the Hickory Crawdads. In 24 games with them, he maintained a .333 batting average, an OBP of .453 with 18 walks, while hitting five home runs and driving in 15 RBIs, with a wRC+ of 192.

Langford's performances continued to impress with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders, where in just 12 games, he hit four home runs, tallied ten RBIs, and walked 11 times, while only striking out seven times, to create an impressive average of .405 along with an OBP of .519.

Texas Rangers playoff odds and draft review

The Texas Rangers currently hold a record of 82-67, placing them 1.5 games behind the division leader Houston Astros, who hold a record of 84-66. According to FanGraphs, the Rangers now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the division and a 71.8 percent chance to make it to the postseason.

If Langford makes his MLB debut in 2023, it would make him the second player from the 2023 MLB Draft to debut, following Nolan Schanuel, who debuted with the Los Angeles Angels after just 22 minor league games. Langford, on the other hand, has played in 38 minor league games so far in 2023, with more to come soon with Frisco.