by J.T. Toth
Photo of Wyatt Langford running to home plate. Courtesy of Gators Wire.
The Pittsburgh Pirates own the #1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft which is scheduled for July 9th-July 11th in Seattle, WA. This draft could be the final piece of GM, Ben Cherington’s puzzle to catapult the Buccos into a yearly contender. In the next few weeks, Draft 412 will showcase the top prospects coming out in 2023.
Name-Wyatt Langford
Pos- OF (Left Field)
Team- Florida Gators
HT/WT- 6’1” 225 lbs.
Bats/Throws- R/R
Born- 11/15/2001
Home – Gainesville, FL
Not a highly recruited player out of high school, scouts liked Langford’s hitting ability but were not sure where he fit in defensively. Langford was a catcher in high school but is now projected as a corner outfielder. A three-sport athlete at Trenton High School in Florida, he was part of a state championship football team as an 8th grader. As a baseball player, Wyatt Langford was a 6-year varsity starter, and a five-time Gainesville Sun All-area selection. He was the first player from Trenton High to go on to play for the Florida Gators.
Langford did not walk in and star right away for the Gators. As a freshman, Langford only had 4 ab’s, all as a pinch hitter. As a sophomore in 2022, Langford would have a breakout season, launching 26 homeruns and a .356 average staring 67 games in left field for the Gators. The 26 homeruns tied the Florida Gators record for homeruns in a season. Coming into this season, Langford was considered a top 20 pick, but it did not take long for him to skyrocket up the charts. Langford has started the season red hot, hitting .399 with 12 homeruns in 42 games, and is now considered a top 5 draft pick.
Power is Langford’s biggest calling card. He has a pure right-handed swing that stays steady through the swing. Langford has added around 20 lbs. of muscle since coming to Florida, and it is paying off with moon shots with range to each field. He has a good approach at the plate that has cut down on his strikeouts and added to his walk totals.
Langford is a self-starter who has worked on improving his game in the past several seasons. As cited earlier, he added muscle and worked on his foot speed and is now considered “plus” in both departments. He has five-tool potential and plays an aggressive style, marking one of the biggest differences from other top draft prospects in this draft.
Defense is the one chink in Langford’s armor. Though he has the speed to play center, his instincts and tracking of the baseball are not where they need to be. He will need to work on his defense to become a day-to-day player in the corner of some MLB team’s outfield.
With Langford, it is tough to compare him to anybody in baseball. He has the potential to be just as good as Dylan Crews, and some say he has more power and tools than Crews. Crews is a better defender who is ready to play the outfield in the Major Leagues right now. It has been a long time since we have seen two right-handed hitting outfielders with this much talent come out in the same draft.
Final Analysis
Wyatt Lanford would be in the talk for the first overall pick in most drafts and has been mentioned by some this year as a possible Pittsburgh Pirates pick. We see Langford battling LSU SP-Paul Skenes for #2 with the loser of that battle falling to #3.
Round 1- #3 on Draft 412 list.
