ARLINGTON -- The Wyatt Langford era seems to be approaching quicker than anybody expected. The Rangers¡¯ No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, will attend his first big league Spring Training, the club announced on Wednesday.

Langford, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Florida, finds himself with a prime opportunity to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster, despite playing in the College World Series less than a year ago.

The outfielder made his professional debut shortly after the Draft, but he rapidly moved up in the farm system and finished the regular season with Triple-A Round Rock:

Rookie-level Rangers (three games): .385/.429/.846/1.275
High-A Hickory (24 games): .333/.453/.644/1.097
Double-A Frisco (12 games): .405/.519/.762/1.281
Triple-A Round Rock (five games): .368/.538/.526/1.064

The Rangers¡¯ projected Opening Day outfield includes fellow rookie Evan Carter, Leody Taveras and Adolis Garc¨ªa. Utility players Ezequiel Duran and Josh Smith also proved to be useful assets last season. But that doesn¡¯t mean Langford doesn¡¯t have a shot at making the Opening Day roster.

Texas still has a hole at designated hitter with Mitch Garver signing with the Mariners in free agency, and though Langford is a solid outfielder, he doesn¡¯t compare to the three starters defensively. The DH spot may be his fastest path to playing time at the big league level; though if he continues hitting, anything is possible.

Like with everything, the 22-year-old Langford will have to earn his spot. If he can hit anything close to his overall .360/.480/.677 slash line in the Minors, he¡¯ll be in Arlington sooner rather than later.

¡°I think the biggest thing is a true path to playing,¡± general manager Chris Young said at the Winter Meetings last month. ¡°But we are putting the best team on the field to go win Major League Baseball games, and if that's Wyatt Langford, then it¡¯s our job to put the best team out on the field. So those things aren't going to have that effect on us in terms of hard decision-making, because every game matters. The games in April matter too, and we want to put the best team on the field to win.¡±

Nine other prospects received invitations to big league camp:

• 1B Blaine Crim
• C Liam Hicks
• RHP Jack Leiter (No. 5 prospect)
• 1B Abimelec Ortiz (No. 14)
• RHP Daniel Robert
• RHP Emiliano Teodo (No. 22)
• INF Davis Wendzel
• LHP Grant Wolfram
• OF Aaron Zavala (No. 11)