The Texas Rangers signed No. 4 overall draft pick Wyatt Langford on Tuesday, rewarding the outfielder with an $8 million bonus.
It is one of the largest bonuses given to a drafted player. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed top overall pick Paul Skenes, a pitcher, to a record $9.2 million bonus earlier Tuesday.
Langford, 21, hit 47 homers over the past two seasons while starring at Florida.
“We think he’s the perfect fit for what we’re building here, who he is as a person, his winning pedigree and certainly the talent as a player,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said. “I think it’s not often you have the opportunity to draft a player as accomplished as Wyatt, and certainly our goal is not to be picking at the top of the draft ever again.
“But that said, this was a great year to be picking at the top of the draft.”
Langford batted .355 with a school-record 26 homers in 2022 as a sophomore. This season, he hit 21 homers while batting .373 and earning unanimous first-team All-American honors.
The success came after Langford didn’t start a single game as a freshman (four appearances, 1-for-4).
“It all went by so fast, I feel like I was first stepping on the campus in the fall just a few days ago,” Langford said. “I couldn’t have had a better college experience. Even though I didn’t play in my freshman year, that kind of made me who I was. I mean, if I don’t have to go through that, I don’t have that ability to go out there and play for two years. It was my dream and is a dream come true. And it’s gotten me to where I am today.
“It’s a little surreal right now, but super exciting.”
Langford’s Florida squad lost to LSU last month in the College World Series.
–Field Level Media