Every so often, Major League Baseball is blessed with a new five-tool superstar who takes the world by storm shortly after making his debut. Bryce Harper is one of the first names that comes to mind, as he had some of the most hype surrounding an amateur prospect in baseball history.

Sometimes, though, these prospects take time to find their footing in the big leagues. Whether it’s due to an injury or simply an adjustment period, this elite transition doesn’t always happen overnight. Once it clicks, all doubts around their slow adjustment quickly disappear.

Right now, Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford fits the bill as one of these five-tool players who is on the cusp of truly leaping into the next tier of baseball stardom.

Admittedly, this feels weird to say since he’s posted back-to-back three-win seasons, but we have yet to see the best version of Wyatt Langford.

It’s no secret that Langford is insanely talented, but the majority of baseball fans don’t realize just how elite he is in nearly every aspect of the game, and he hasn’t even reached his full potential yet.

It’s honestly quite surprising, because a player with a bat as good as his usually isn’t flashing an elite glove and elite speed without consistently being regarded as one of the top players in the game.

However, this is not the case for Langford. Now two years into his big league career, he has yet to fully break out or receive any real attention for just how close he is to becoming one of the best players in the sport.

Let’s take a closer look at Langford’s game and explain exactly why we still haven’t seen the best version of his skill set, and just how good he could be in the near future.

Langford’s Big League Successes

Although Langford still hasn’t reached his full potential, he’s already become a very good player during his first two big league seasons. He’s posted 3.0 fWAR or more in each of his first two seasons without playing more than 134 games, a number that really speaks to his level of talent.

This year, Langford slashed .241/.344/.431 with 22 homers and a 118 wRC+, while registering his first 4.0 fWAR season of his career. He also nabbed 22 bags, becoming a sneaky base-stealing threat. This isn’t where Langford really shines, though, as his underlying metrics are much more impressive.

For starters, Langford registered some incredible batted ball metrics during his 2025 campaign. His 14% barrel rate led the way, as he also posted a hard-hit rate near 50% as well. Langford notably pulled a lot of his fly balls as well, a factor that’s usually a good indicator of a hitter’s power potential.

Of course, this is also without mentioning his exit velocity, which points in a positive direction as well. His average exit velocity sat just over 91 MPH, maxing out over 113 MPH, two very strong marks to reach.

Unlike most power hitters in today’s game, Langford is one of the best all-around athletes the game has to offer. His sprint speed sat at 28.9 feet per second, a number that put Langford inside the top 12% of players during the 2025 season.

The most surprising part? His sprint speed was only 0.02 behind Elly De La Cruz, one of the game’s most prolific threats on the bases.

Of course, with his elite speed, it would be tough for Langford to struggle in a corner outfield position. He didn’t just get by, but he was instead one of the best fielders in the entire sport.

He was one of only 12 outfielders to post an OAA of 10, putting him among elite company such as Corbin Carroll and Julio Rodriguez.

Keep in mind, Langford has done all of this while still potentially having another level he can tap into. He’s far from a complete product, which should get baseball fans everywhere very excited.

If he finds this next level, he’ll undoubtedly become one of the best and most well-rounded players in the sport.

Where Langford Can Improve

Although Langford has already flashed some impressively elite numbers, he still has some areas where he can improve. Heading into the 2026 season, if Langford is going to take the next leap into stardom, these areas of improvement will become massive keys to his success.

For starters, Langford has only appeared in 134 games in each of his first two seasons, meaning we haven’t really gotten a look at what a full season from him may look like. He has yet to even surpass 575 plate appearances in either of his big league seasons. An extra 28 games leave room for many improvements, especially in counting stats.

Despite posting some elite plate discipline metrics overall, Langford still has to keep a close eye on his strikeout numbers. He posted a strikeout rate slightly over 26% this season, which places him in the bottom 16% of the league.

While this number isn’t completely out of control, it’s a 6.2% increase from his rookie season in 2024.

Langford has also been a fastball killer during his first two seasons, but he has shown some less positive metrics against other pitchers. For example, Langford posted a whiff rate of nearly 30% against breaking balls, while also registering some lower exit velocities.

Also, Langford has struggled to make consistent contact. His contact rate this year sat just below 74%, a number that would put him in the bottom 40% of major league hitters. It didn’t end there either, as his out-of-zone contact rate sat at an abysmal 48.6%.

Langford has maintained an extremely passive approach, which will be something to keep a close eye on. His swing rate only came in at 43%. While this isn’t exactly a negative on the surface, an overly passive approach can lead to hesitance to swing at good pitches to hit inside the strike zone.

For the most part, these are minimal improvements for Langford to make.

Instead of a full overhaul or even a huge adjustment in one specific area, the 2026 season will be about making minor refinements to truly maximize his talents. This is super encouraging for his next season, as he’s already proven his tools to be elite.

What Could Langford’s Ceiling Look Like?

Now that we’ve touched on where Langford exceeded and where he needs to improve, we can take a look at what his ceiling may look like once he reaches his full potential. Given the five-tool skill set he’s showcased and the improvements he’s already made, the answer may be surprising.

Langford has already shown massive signs of growth during his first two big league seasons. He raised his barrel rate by nearly 5.0%, improved his exit velocity numbers, and also raised his walk rate by nearly 4.0%. These are massive improvements to see, especially given just how much better these numbers became in comparison to his 2024 season.

To project the type of player Langford may become once he reaches his full potential, we have to find a player that matches his current profile, but takes it to another level.

For reference, this is a true five-tool talent with the potential to hit for some serious power without sacrificing other areas of their game.

When trying to find a player who matches this profile, a few names came to mind: Julio Rodriguez, Ronald Acuna Jr., Byron Buxton, and Corbin Carroll.

However, Carroll’s name is the one that really stood out to me, as he and Langford share very similar skills, with Carroll being slightly more refined in some areas.