Wyatt Langford, Florida (45+ FV)
Coming into the 2022 season Langford was far from being on anyone’s radar as a potential draft prospect. In ’21 he slashed .250/.250/.250 in just 4 at bats and did not record an extra base hit. After converting from catcher to outfield prior to ’22, he would go on to have an all around impressive year slashing .356/.447/.716 with 26 HRs, cementing himself as a legitimate first round prospect in next year’s draft.
The stand out tool here is power. He posted a max EV of 112.45mph with a HH% of 55.29% and one of the highest Avg EVs in the nation at 95mph. It’s easy 70 raw with 60 in game. I should note that his average LA was 13.46 degrees, indicating that he could have trouble consistently getting to that raw power (hence the 60). Where things start to get dicey is when you examine the bat to ball skills and swing decisions. He ran a Whiff% at 25.7% and Z-Whiff% at 16%. Both metrics indicate average bat to ball skills. The swing decisions are likely a 40, with a Z-Swing% of just 73% and a high O-Swing rate of 37%. If I had to project I’d say that he’s a career .240-.250 hitter with 25–30 HRs a year in his prime.
Langford is a really good athlete for someone his size (6’1 220, Josh Donaldson body comp). He can flash plus run times and is an above average mover. This past year he played what appears to be 55 defense in a corner spot for Florida but with Jud Fabian having left I am highly intrigued to see if he can play center. If the swing decisions and contact skills can get to 50s I would be ecstatic. Buy on the upside headed into the spring.