ARLINGTON — It was worth the wait.
Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford, a genius power hitter who reached the major leagues just seven months after being drafted fourth overall by the team out of Florida State, took an unexpected turn to record his first MLB home run. It took a long 27 games and 99 at-bats.
In fact, the 22-year-old was forced to resolve the issue.
Langford hit an on-field home run in the first inning of Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Reds at Globe Life Field, giving the Rangers an early 4-0 lead. On the eighth pitch of his at-bat, Cincinnati left-hander Andrew Abbott threw a 93.9 mph fastball into the far side of the strike zone, and Langford sent it 378 feet into the right field seats.
The ball bounced off the wall of the Rangers bullpen and flew over Cincinnati right fielder Jake Fraley. Langford, whose sprint speed of 29.6 feet per second was the 11th fastest in baseball this season, turned on the jets as he rounded second base and was waived and sent home by third base coach Tony Beasley. Fraley relayed the ball to shortstop Elie Delacruz, who ran toward the first base line, but the power-throwing infielder made no attempt to throw, and Langford slid safely home.
Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, who had singled in his previous at-bat, also scored on this play. Langford became the fourth player in Rangers history to hit the field with his first major league home run, and the first since teammate Josh Smith on July 11, 2022.
After leading the Cactus League in OPS and RBI this spring, his power has most of the baseball world excited. He had 24 hits before Sunday's game, leading all rookies in the American League, but he still didn't have the pitch to hit a home run.
Langford, baseball's No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was given an oddly wide strike zone from the start. The umpires ruled a league-high 21 pitches (most of which were away or outside the zone) against Langford as strikes, three more than second place Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers).
Langford hit 10 home runs in 44 games in 2023 while working his way through Texas' minor league system. His monster spring has propelled him onto the roster, and he has started games at DH and LF so far.
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