ANAHEIM — Few Texas Rangers prospects in recent memory have come with as high expectations as Wyatt Langford.
The Rangers’ 4th overall pick in 2023 did not disappoint, especially in the second half of the season. And most importantly, during the last sweltering month of the season, he steadily progressed into the type of hitter the organization envisions.
In fact, few Rangers have had better months than the 22-year-old Langford.
He was at it again Saturday in the Rangers’ 9-8 come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium. It was his fourth home run in the past six games. Nine of his 16 home runs have come in the past 30 games.
Langford became the first Rangers player to have at least 22 RBIs, 7 home runs, 19 RBIs, and 6 stolen bases in a month.
Previous MLB rookies with similar performance in a single month were Nomar Garciaparra (August 1997), Mike Trout (July and August 2012), and Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. (August 2018) and Arizona’s Corbin Carroll (June 2023).
The Rangers fell behind 7-1 in the 3rd inning, but added runs in the 4th and 6th innings, 2 runs in the 8th inning, and 4 runs in the 9th inning to achieve their biggest come-from-behind victory of the season. Their biggest score so far was a five-point difference in Sunday’s final home game.
.@langford_wyatt leads all AL players in home runs this month. 👀 pic.twitter.com/9JHZuNfqpZ
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) September 29, 2024
This was probably Andrew Heaney’s worst start to the season, but he’ll be celebrating anyway. Heaney, the Rangers’ most durable starting pitcher and started a career-high 31 games in 2024, had a career-high tying 10 hits in four innings and scored a season-high seven runs. With the loss, they dropped to 5 wins and 15 losses. But Heaney, 33, earned a $1.5 million incentive bonus for pitching 160 innings. He started the match at 156.
Adris Garcia, who hit his 25th home run in Friday’s win, grounded out in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game. Garcia entered the fight with a limping left knee, which has been bothering him lately.
Garcia becomes the seventh player in Rangers history to hit 25 home runs over four seasons. He became the fourth Rangers player to hit 25 or more home runs in at least four consecutive seasons. He joins Juan Gonzalez (5, 1995-99), Rafael Palmeiro (5, 1999-2003) and Mark Teixeira (4, 2003-06). Garcia is
He is one of five American League players to hit at least 25 home runs over the past four seasons, along with Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, Boston’s Rafael Devers, Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge. There is only one person.
Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (11-8, 3.96) will face Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowitz (2-5, 4.01) in the final game of the season Sunday at 2:07 p.m.
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