Wyatt Langford shines in MLB debut

FRISCO, Texas (March 29, 2024) – Former Frisco RoughRiders outfielder Wyatt Langford made his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers on Thursday, March 28th, going 1-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a walk while starting at designated hitter.

Langford, who ranks as the No. 6 prospect in baseball and the No. 2 prospect in the Rangers' system by MLB.com, collected his first Major League RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning of Opening Day's 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings. In the sixth, the former Florida Gator beat out a ground ball to short for an infield single and his first hit at the MLB level.

In the eighth inning, he was intentionally walked, becoming just the 44th player in MLB history to be intentionally walked in his debut.

Langford played 12 games for the RoughRiders in 2023, all in September. Among Texas League hitters in the month, he finished second in batting average (.405), first in on-base percentage (.519), first in slugging percentage (.762), first in OPS (1.281) while he tied for sixth in hits (17), tied for fifth in homers (four), tied for sixth in RBIs (10) and tied for seventh in walks (11).

Overall between four levels in the minors, he batted .360 (58-for-161)/.480/.677/1.157 between the Arizona Complex League, High-A Hickory, Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock. From August 2nd (when he made his Hickory debut) through the end of the season, he finished third in all of Minor League Baseball with a 1.146 OPS while he was fourth in OBP (.484) and fifth in SLG (.662).

Langford was selected with the fourth-overall selection in the 2023 draft by the Rangers out of the University of Florida. There, he was a Unanimous First Team All-American selection after leading the Gators to the College World Series Championship Finals, where they fell to the LSU Tigers. On the season, the outfielder hit an astounding .373/.471/.746/1.217 with 21 home runs and 57 RBIs over 64 games.

Over his career, he shattered the Florida slugging percentage record by 32 points, slugging .746 over three years. He also became one of three Gators in program history to have back-to-back 20-plus home run seasons, bashing 26 as a sophomore in 2022 and 21 as a junior in 2023.

Langford is the first former RoughRiders player to make his MLB debut in 2024 and the 198th player in franchise history.

Single-game tickets start at just $11. For tickets and more information about the Frisco RoughRiders, visit RidersBaseball.com or call 972.731.9200.

About the RoughRiders

The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and the 2022 Texas League champions. In 2023, the team celebrated its 20th anniversary and has consistently finished in the top five among all Double-A franchises in attendance yearly. In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg. Since then, the new ownership group, together with the City of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise enhancements, investing over $8 million in a wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including a state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, Bullpen Bar, Riders Outpost Team Store and the world's largest water feature in a sports facility, the massive Lazy River. These enhancements earned the Riders and the City of Frisco Ballpark Digest's prestigious "Best Ballpark Renovation" award for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). More than 190 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball including current Rangers Josh Jung, Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact [email protected].MLB