Wyatt Langford & Tyler Fitzgerald

My two favorite outfield prospects heading into 2024 are Wyatt Langford of the Texas Rangers and Tyler Fitzgerald of the SanFrancisco Giants.

Here are some stats from the Florida Gators website, Langford’s alma mater:

One of three players in program history with consecutive 20-homer campaigns (2022–23)

Slashed an unearthly .363/.471/.746 across 496 career at bats while playing in 134 games (130 starts) over three seasons

Totaled 47 home runs, six triples, 37 doubles, 156 runs, 120 RBI and 16 steals

Drew more walks in his career (92) than strikeouts (89)

Fitzgerald has had over .300 BABIP 3 years in a row in triple A in Sacramento. He’s had about 1700 plate appearances in his triple A career. Plus nine, to be exact. I’ve watched Fitzgerald play with my own two eyes, in person and I loved it. I’ve never seen Langford play in person. Maybe that’s why I didn’t feel right giving a big bouquet of flowers to a kid from out of town, who I’ve only seen on tape and who I have only a modern feel for. In my opinion, you need more than the modern game tells a scout or writer he or she needs. I couldn’t write about Langford without writing about Fitzgerald. Especially when one has been to the show and one has not. That’s the difference between being tried and being truly tried and tested when it comes to how I see ball players.

Wyatt Langford is the top outfield prospect, top batting prospect and he has the tools and statistics to back it up. Tyler Fitzgerald is off of the radar for most sports writers. He is a Giant after all, he’s not brand new to the scene and he is not a household name. So maybe it makes sense that he isn’t on the minds of most, but I think about his brand of baseball quite a bit. Whatever that’s worth…

I know what you’re thinking already, this guy is off his rocker and has a special liking for his hometown boys. And I do like the Giants, I’m a lifelong fan and I grew up on their brand of baseball. And Tyler Fitzgerald fits right into that brand of ball playing. He’s quick, got a good glove, causes chaos on the base paths and gets hits. Some people call it “small ball,” but it’s the type of under appreciated style of play that wins ball games. And it especially wins the close ones, which are the games that can make or break a team’s season.

Wyatt Langford and Tyler Fitzgerald have worked hard to get where they are today. “It’s hard not to think about it because it’s one of those stories you can tell for the rest of your career,” [Kevin] O’Sullivan said Monday. “Guy had four or five at-bats his freshman year, all of a sudden he hits 26 homers, plays for the USA Team.”

“The most exciting player to watch this season, and team MVP was Tyler Fitzgerald who become the first River Cats player since Jarrett Parker in 2015 to have a 20/20 season in which he hit 20 home runs and stole 29 bases. He would end the season leading the River Cats in all offensive categories including the aforementioned home runs and steals, along with a .279 batting average, 72 runs scored, and 69 RBI. Tyler’s accomplishments didn’t go unnoticed by the Giants who called him up on September 21, a week after his 26th birthday. Through his first five games Tyler is hitting .250 with a double and a home run in only 16 at bats.” A quote found on the Dugout Tales blog.

Maybe, despite popular opinion, these two players aren’t that different after all. Maybe I’m not crazy to put them in the same article.