Law: Wyatt Langford would be the top MLB Draft prospect in any year except this one

April 27, 2024

Florida’s Wyatt Langford sits at No. 2 on my latest MLB Draft rankings, and was No. 1 earlier in the year before he fouled a ball off a bad place, which kept him out for two weeks but didn’t require surgery. He came back incredibly quickly and hasn’t let up at the plate, reaching base four more times when I saw him against Florida State at the Triple-A ballpark in Jacksonville on May 2.

Langford is a 70 runner with a beautiful right-handed swing that generates real power already — he hit 26 homers last year, tying him for sixth in the country with first-rounder Kevin Parada, and he’s already at 12 this year even with about seven missed games. He’s steady through contact with excellent hip rotation, getting his weight onto his front side without collapsing the back, and hitting the ball in the air a ton. He’s a disciplined hitter who doesn’t expand the zone much at all for any pitch type until he gets to two strikes, and even then he rarely misses. He plays left field in part because Florida has a plus defensive center fielder in redshirt freshman Michael Robertson, but more because Langford isn’t a natural or instinctive defender, even in left field. He’s so fast you’d think he could handle center, but we have seen guys with his speed (Derek Fisher comes to mind, and to a lesser extent Corey Ray) who just couldn’t carry it over to defense.

He’s not quite hitting at the pace of LSU’s Dylan Crews, but Langford is having an incredible year by non-Crews standards. Crews is second in Division I in on-base percentage and 14th in slugging; Langford is fifth in OBP and 17th in slugging, and both are doing it in the nation’s best conference. While Crews has the edge in production and defensive value, as he’s a center fielder, Langford is the better runner and athlete, and I would like to think he could get to average defense in left. Crews is the favorite to go 1-1, but Langford would be the 1-1 pick in the majority of draft years, and he’s got to be the best alternative for Pittsburgh if they want to try to negotiate with two players to strike the best deal.

Read Keith Law’s latest MLB mock draft.

More scouting notes on some top prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft:

• Shortstop Kevin McGonigle of Monsignor Bonner High School just outside of Philly has one of the best swings in the draft class, and you know what that means — it means he gets results, you stupid chief. He’s a left-handed hitter with a clean, simple bat path and quick wrists, while he’s shown excellent ball-strike recognition between last summer and this spring. He hasn’t faced much good velocity, especially not this year, so there’s some projection to the hit tool based on the bat speed and the swing itself. He doesn’t always land strongly on his front side — he transfers his weight well, but his front leg isn’t always in position to “receive” it, so to speak, which I think will cost him at least a half-grade of power until it’s remedied. I saw him play at Frawley Stadium here in Wilmington on Saturday night against Appoquinimink (Delaware), and he got all of one pitch … but it didn’t reach the warning track, despite a picture-perfect swing and angle. He’s a fringe-average runner who probably starts his pro career at shortstop and ends up at second base in the end, although I wouldn’t rush to move him. He’s committed to Auburn, so if he doesn’t get whatever his price is, he could go rake in the SEC for three years and be a top-15 pick in 2026.

Kevin McGonigle (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)

• Shortstop Sam Stafura plays at Walter Panas HS in Cortlandt Manor, New York, what folks like me like to refer to as “upstate” because it’s north of the Bronx. Stafura is a 70 runner and might be a plus defender at shortstop, if not right now then in the near future, with great hands and plenty of lateral range along with the arm to stay on that side of the bag. He’s inched his way into day-one consideration as he’s shown well with the bat this spring, with a swing and build that produces contact rather than impact, and may have more of a leadoff profile in the future than a power one. He has great bat speed, with a flattish swing that produces low line drives and groundballs, although he can load a little deep and end up late to the zone. He’s well-built but doesn’t offer a ton of projection. I could see another half-grade of power from modest swing adjustments, but his upside looks more like a high-average/OBP guy who runs. That fits somewhere from the back of the first round to the beginning of the second.

• Delaware Military Academy right-hander Tyler August gave me a home game, as he threw a two-hit shutout at the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ stadium last Thursday. August has been up to 96 and was 89-93 on this particular night, with a better curveball than advertised, 45/50 changeup, and below-average slider. He threw strikes, which has been an issue for him this spring, but the delivery needs an overhaul — he’s got as high an elbow in back as you’ll see, almost B.J. Ryan-like, and nothing is consistent coming forward. He’s got arm strength and enough athleticism for a team that trusts its player development folks with a long-term project. August is committed to Delaware.

• Some more notes from around the country: Two names who weren’t in my top 50 last week but probably belong on there now, based on what I’ve heard from scouts in the past five days, are outfielder Dillon Head of Homewood Flossmoor Dental Academy … err, High School just south of Chicago; and right-hander Josh Knoth of Patchogue-Medford High School, alma mater of Marcus Stroman, on Long Island. Head’s a very athletic kid who’s looked better with the bat this spring, while Knoth is a Mississippi commit with huge spin rates on his breaking ball and a fastball up to 95. … Noble Meyer was 26th in my draft ranking, the top high school pitcher on the list (reflecting the higher risk inherent in high school arms), and hit 101 mph in a recent start, while he’s been topping out at 99 mph most of the spring and sitting 94-96. A decade ago I would have argued for him in the top 10, and maybe some team takes him there, but the base rate for prep arms applies to even the best prospects, unfortunately. … Texas right-hander Tanner Witt returned to the mound after about 14 months away due to Tommy John surgery. It wasn’t a great first look, as he was wild, throwing just 24 of 54 pitches for strikes. His curveball was his best pitch and still had power, spin, and depth to it, while the fastball retained its usual ride but was 88-94 rather than his pre-surgery 92-96, and he didn’t have great feel for the changeup. He should get at least three more appearances before the season ends, if not more, so he’ll have time to show better control and velocity well before anyone has to make a decision about him.

(Top photo of Wyatt Langford: Samuel Lewis / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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