ARLINGTON, Texas -- He was in between his sophomore and junior seasons at Florida this time two years ago. He was in between road trips to Amarillo and Tacoma, Wash., at Triple-A Round Rock this time last year. He bemoaned the way his rookie season had unfolded just one month ago.

Now, with a week-and-a-half remaining in the regular season, Wyatt Langford is constructing one of the best debut seasons in Texas Rangers history.

"It's pretty amazing," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said, "the progress he's made."

It's hardly hyperbolic. The 22-year-old outfielder who made his major league debut just eight months after the Rangers selected him fourth overall in last year's MLB draft has survived a slow start, a trip to the injured list and some dog-day slumps to cement himself as one of the American League's best rookies with just 10 games left to play.

There are two schools of thought, er, data, to measure his season. Langford's 2.9 WAR (according to Baseball Reference) ranks third among AL rookies behind only New York's Luis Gil (3.6) and Boston's Wilyer Abreu (3.1). FanGraphs -- which calculates its WAR differently than Baseball Reference -- lists Langford fourth among AL position players with 2.2 WAR. He may not win Rookie of the Year, but he's worked his way into podium position.

Where both outlets can agree: Langford's season has been one of the best ever by a Rangers rookie. Only Bump Willis (5.4 WAR in 1977), Jim Sundberg (4.0 WAR in 1974), Adolis García (3.7 WAR in 2021), Elvis Andrus (3.6 WAR in 2009) and Mike Hargrove (3.3 WAR in 1974) have played more valuable rookie seasons, according to Baseball Reference. Per FanGraphs, only Andrus, García and third baseman Josh Jung (last year) have had a higher rookie-year WARs for a Ranger than Langford this century.

Langford played in his 124th game on Wednesday, a 2-0 Rangers win over Toronto, and accumulated his value in fewer games than any listed above. Credit a list of remarkably high highs.

-- He made the Rangers' opening day roster with the third-fewest professional games played (44) of any drafted position player behind only Texas' Pete Incaviglia (zero games) and Toronto's John Olerud (six games).

-- He became the first rookie in baseball history to record an inside-the-park home run (on April 28 vs. Cincinnati), a grand slam (on June 22 vs. Kansas City) and hit for the cycle (on June 30 against Baltimore) in the same season.

-- He hit a walkoff grand slam -- the first of its kind around these parts since Nelson Cruz did so in 2011 -- on Sept. 3 vs. the New York Yankees for his third career walkoff hit.

-- He's robbed multiple home runs in left field: one on July 4 vs. the San Diego Padres and another on Sept. 4 vs. the Yankees.

-- He reached base five times in Tuesday's win vs. the Blue Jays and became just the third rookie in club history to do so.

"You look at where he was last year, playing for the Florida Gators," Bochy said. "There's never been a tougher time to hit major league pitching than today with all the changes, the power arms and everything. For him to do what he did this year, I think, says a lot about him."

Each individual moment has shown, at his best and most comfortable, what Langford is capable of. His recent run of play accentuates that over the course of multiple weeks. Langford told The Dallas Morning News on Aug. 20 that he's "obviously not too happy with how I've done so far." Since that day he's slashed .314/.392/.581 with five home runs, 17 RBIs, 19 runs scored and has more than doubled (0.8 to 2.2) his WAR in that time, according to FanGraphs.

Forget rookies: Langford has been one of the league's best of any age and experience in his last 23 games. His 174 wRC+ -- an ell-encompassing statistic which measures a player's offensive impact -- since Aug. 20 is the seventh-best in the AL and his 1.3 WAR accumulated is tied for the sixth-most with Kansas City Royals shortstop and AL MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr.

Yeah, he's happier now.

"I feel pretty good," Langford said Tuesday after he hit three extra base hits vs. the Blue Jays.

He's a man of few words. His manager can fill in the blanks.

"We haven't seen the best of this guy," Bochy said. "No. 1 because of his talent, but how hard he works and how committed he is to his craft. You can play him anywhere in the outfield, hit him anywhere in the top five, six spots in the order. He's going to be a lot of fun to watch here in the next few years for the fans."

©2024 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.