By james art 
The All-Stars of the Arizona Fall League belong to the Detroit Tigers.
Catcher Thayron Liranzo and first baseman Josue Briceño are the hottest prospects in baseball for their first offensive performance with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Fall League.
The AFL started on October 3 and ends on November 16.
Liranzo is the No. 6 prospect and Briceño is the No. 9 prospect in the Tigers organization, according to Baseball America’s midseason rankings released in early August.
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Baseball America prospect expert Jeff Pontes rated both players in Arizona over the past month, describing Briceño as the “Fall League MVP.”
Briceño, a left-handed hitting first baseman who turned 20 in late September, is hitting .458 with seven home runs, eight walks and 14 strikeouts in 16 games, posting an AFL-best 1.430 OPS. He has an 11.8% walk rate and a 20.6% strikeout rate in 68 plate appearances.
On October 12, he had a three-homer game, becoming the first AFL player to do so since Renato Nunes in 2015. In that game, he hit home runs off Andrew Painter (Philadelphia Phillies), Trent Baker (St. Louis Cardinals) and Payton Pallett (Chicago White Sox).
“It’s all about the bat,” Pontes said of Briceño. “The fact that he moved to first base, I think that’s where he’s going to end up long term. He definitely won’t be a catcher… What he is, though, is a really polished hitter. The combination of bat – ball skills, power and good swing decisions. … It’s the balance of being able to distinguish balls and strikes in the zone. He does it really well and he does it with power in all fields.”
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Liranzo, a 21-year-old shift-hitting catcher, is hitting .389 with one home run, six walks and eight strikeouts in 10 games, posting a 1.170 OPS. He has a 14.3% walk rate and 19% strikeout rate in 42 plate appearances.
The Tigers want Liranzo, a better right-handed hitter with more left-handed power, to develop his game and consistency in the field in hopes of making him a starting catcher despite a below-average defense.
Tigers Thayron Liranzo had a great day at the plate Thursday, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run, showing power on both sides of the plate. Liranzo was acquired by the Tigers in the Jack Flaherty trade. pic.twitter.com/wswR4srYP6
— Geoff Pontes (@GeoffPontesBA) October 11, 2024
“He’s not the most natural recruiter,” Pontes said of Liranzo. “That’s a part of his game that’s not super tight … He’s never going to be the most athletic guy out there … As a forward, it’s more of a true three-scoring profile. I think the power is much higher (than Briceño). It’s a more streamlined approach. There’s a bit of an elevated feel to the zone, but it’s not outrageous.
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Pontes joined a recent episode of the “Days of Roar” podcast and predicted the timelines for Liranso and Briceño’s MLB debuts after evaluating both players in the AFL.
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Projected MLB Debut: September 2025
the buzz: The Tigers acquired Liranzo (and shortstop Trey Sweeney, who made his MLB debut in mid-August) from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jack Flaherty on July 30 at the 2024 trade deadline, with Liranzo as the headliner. He made an immediate impact when he joined High-A West Michigan, hitting .315 with five home runs, 26 walks and 20 strikeouts in 26 games. He needs to continue his development as a catcher to avoid a move to first base, but he has some of the highest offensive potential on the Tigers’ farm floor thanks to an elite combination of swing and power solutions, though he has swing- and -miss apprehension. It’s rare to find a fast-pitch catcher with that kind of raw power, especially when combining advanced plate discipline, but the Tigers have one in Liranzo.
What Pontes said: “A guy like Liranzo, you’re talking about someone who is at least part of your catcher rotation, can fill in at designated hitter and possibly some first base. It’s a switch hitter. I’ve seen him hit for power out of both He’s a little easier in your lineup, I think you’ll get all of that. 260 but he probably maintains a 12% walk so on base percentages will always be pretty high, maybe more in the tank if he makes really consistent contact easily 60 hits, probably 50 hits when you factor in walk rate and ability based on this class of percussion instrument. And then it’s just a matter of, can he get to the middle as a defensive catcher? there, because of the value of the bat, you keep him in the lineup, if he hits next year, I think there’s an outside chance he’ll see games in September 2025. He’s Rule 5 eligible in December 2025. If the 40-man roster guy has room and needs a boost in terms of offensive production, I think this is a guy who could probably make the 40 man roster next year and see some action towards the end of the year.
Projected MLB Debut: April 2026
the buzz: The Tigers signed Briceño — born in Miguel Cabrera’s hometown of Maracay, Venezuela — to an $800,000 bonus in January 2022 during the international signing period. He stood out in 2024 as one of the youngest players in the Florida State League. Briceño hit .278 with two home runs, 22 walks and 26 strikeouts in 40 games at Low-A Lakeland before a sprained right PCL suffered while running the bases sidelined him from mid-May to late August. His 17.8% mark for the Flying Tigers – better than Max Clarke (20.5%) and worse than Kevin McGonigle (10.7%) – proved his ability to put the ball in play at the Low A level. He still has a long way to go, but should start 2025 at High-A West Michigan and move quickly if he finds success at the plate.
What Pontes said: “There’s a chance he could work his way into that first base job (in 2026). I think (2025) means he gets a full season under his belt. He plays every day. He’s at the (first base) position 75% or more.. I don’t know if they’re going to completely reject the idea of catching. I think there are a lot of similarities under the hood of Briceño and Vinny Pasquantino, where Pasquantino was better than other first base prospects that were ranked ahead of him. .. I thought “Is Pasquantino better than Tork?” I think he has it where you have to have that balance of bat-to-ball skills, above average or better, and above average to plus power. He’s a hitter that has power, and I think that’s what you really look to have at that position, if he hits and continues to do what I think he’s going to do, because the bat-to-ball skills are there , the approach is there, the adjustments and the barrel control is there, I think he’ll be their first baseman in April of 2026. I don’t think thinking two years out is that crazy, I don’t know if he’s an All-Star or something similar, but certainly someone who, when we list the top 15 offensive first basemen in the game, could probably be there just because he has that balance of skills. There are so many guys in the same boat who don’t have that bat — ball skills and that balance of approach, I think there’s a legitimate chance that guy could develop into a pretty good hitter.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers prospects Thayron Liranzo, Josue Briceño scorching AFL
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