After leading the Gators in nearly every major offensive statistic in 2022, outfielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] is the first player on ESPN’s list of players to watch for next year’s draft.
While the players were grouped by future value grade, meaning any of them could wind up better than the other, MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel put Langford at No. 1 on the list for a reason. Langford quietly took over the starting left field spot for UF after serving as a backup catcher his freshman year. He blossomed into a plus defender, one that McDaniel thinks might be a center fielder when all is said and done.
With [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] now with the Baltimore Orioles and Mercer transfer commit [autotag]Colby Thomas[/autotag] with the Oakland Athletics, Florida needs a center fielder in 2023. I had penciled in [autotag]Michael Robertson[/autotag] to at least get an audition at that spot after missing his freshman year with injury, but Langford certainly deserves one, too.
Langford has come out of nowhere, getting to campus as a low-profile backup catcher and then becoming Florida’s regular left fielder as a sophomore. He’s surprisingly good defensively in a corner and, also surprisingly, will give you a plus run time here and there, so he might be a center fielder.
He’s tops for me because 1) he has a quiet, repeatable, low-maintenance swing that kind of reminds me of Pete Alonso mechanically (though Langford has only 55-to-60-grade raw power, good for 25-ish homers annually in the big leagues) and 2) Langford as a sophomore just had basically the same season that Jonathan India did as a junior, a campaign that propelled India from his prior third-round projection to the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 draft.
If Langford can hold his own in center field as he did in left, and he takes a more patient approach at the plate, the Gators could have a potential No. 1 pick on their hands. Of course, it will be hard for Langford to repeat the year he had in 2022. He slashed .355/.447/.719 with 26 home runs and 63 RBIs.
If he comes close to providing the same production while being the sole focus of most opposing pitching staffs, then the only thing he stands to improve on is a 36 to 44 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Proving he can go deep into the count would solidify him in many scouts’ eyes as a first-round talent.
It’s still way-too-early, as ESPN suggests, but the Gators have a star on their hands in 2023. Perhaps Florida’s first No. 1 overall pick?
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