All baseball followers know the story by now. The 2024 Detroit Tigers pulled off some of the miraculous runs in latest reminiscence to make the playoffs. Their odds to make the postseason have been minuscule as just lately as late August—however then Detroit grew to become the most popular workforce in baseball. Pair that with the truth that the Minnesota Twins collapsed down the stretch, and also you had the right recipe for this kind of improbability coming to fruition.
However maybe misplaced in that feel-good trip post-All-Star break is that Detroit truly offered on the commerce deadline. You couldn’t fault them on the time—they have been wanting up at an extremely crowded Wild Card race, and the groups forward of all of them appeared higher suited to 2024 success. Detroit held onto their prized possession, Tarik Skubal, regardless of some gentle rumors in July that he might be on the transfer, however they did make another future-looking transactions. Most notably that meant promoting Jack Flaherty, who was in the midst of a bounce-back season on a one-year deal. He was a pure commerce candidate, and the Tigers moved him to the win-now Dodgers for a bundle headlined by prospect Thayron Liranzo.
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Prospect Origin
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Liranzo signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in January of 2021 as a global free agent from the Dominican Republic. He was 17 on the time and signed for simply $30,000. The Dodgers have a knack for doing properly with their worldwide signees, and it didn’t take lengthy for Liranzo to point out that he may be one other nice discover for the group. The switch-hitting catcher appeared in 21 DSL video games that yr, triple-slashing .250/.393/.353 with one dwelling run. These aren’t eye-popping numbers by any means, and it’s a small pattern, however Liranzo shortly confirmed that he was a succesful drive on the plate. Maybe most notable is that the 17-year-old posted a 16.5% stroll fee. Stroll and strikeout charges may be noisy on the DSL stage given the broad variance in competitors high quality, however Liranzo’s stroll fee has since turn into considered one of his carrying instruments, so on reflection, this was an indication of issues to return.
The catcher acquired into extra recreation motion in 2022 and this was the primary glimpse we acquired of the ability that Liranzo possesses in his bat. In 41 Advanced Stage contests, Liranzo hit simply .236, however he smacked eight dwelling runs and posted a .250 ISO. For a fast reference, Gunnar Henderson ranked tenth in all of MLB this yr with a .248 ISO. Once more, this was a small pattern in one of many lowest ranges of the minors, so every thing was to be taken with a grain of salt, however that sort of energy output was a glimpse on the potential thump ceiling for Liranzo. Unsurprisingly, the then 18-year-old continued to attract walks, taking his base on balls at a 12.3% fee.
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Prospect Breakout
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If evaluators began to take word in 2022, it was 2023 that basically put Liranzo on the map. Final yr was his first crack at full-season ball, and as a 19-year-old in Low-A, Liranzo didn’t disappoint. In whole, he performed in 94 video games, all at that stage, triple slashing .272/.400/.562. That was good for twenty-four dwelling runs and a .290 ISO. Once more, this was simply in 94 video games, so pro-rate that out to a full season, and out of the blue you’re taking a look at a 40+ dwelling run bat. That’s extraordinarily attractive for a young person, particularly one who can play behind dwelling plate and hit from each batter’s containers.
Liranzo’s stroll fee once more remained excessive, checking in at a 16.7% clip. If there was a crimson flag, it was that his strikeout fee did climb to 26.8%. That’s definitely acceptable, however a bit on the upper finish, and one thing that everybody would wish to monitor as he continues to face more durable pitching as he climbs the ladder.
However in all, Liranzo’s profile appeared nice—he was pulling the (52.1% pull fee) and hitting it within the air (45.3% groundball fee). The catcher entered the season as an under-the-radar prospect which some have been protecting tabs on and completed the season as a High 100 prospect.
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2024
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Liranzo’s 2024 is sort of actually a story of two halves. The expectations have been excessive coming off of his 2023 breakout season. As beforehand talked about—he was a High 100 prospect now. Extra eyes have been on him and he was making the soar from Low-A to Excessive-A. This soar can show troublesome for a lot of.
For Liranzo, it did simply that. The catcher had a fully brutal April. In 16 video games, he hit simply .159 with two dwelling runs. He was nonetheless strolling 12.3% of the time, however he was putting out at an astronomical 38.4% clip. The problem of going through high quality pitching competitors was seeking to be an excessive amount of for the 20-year-old. Issues acquired a bit higher from there as Liranzo adjusted. From Might via July twenty fifth, Liranzo triple-slashed .239/.365/.363, and he reduce his strikeout fee all the way in which all the way down to 22.4% throughout that span. These are positive numbers, however nonetheless not paying homage to the participant we noticed in 2023—his ISO throughout that stretch sat at .124.
After which the commerce occurred. On July thirtieth, proper earlier than the commerce deadline, the Dodgers traded Liranzo and Trey Sweeney (who grew to become an MLB common for Detroit down the stretch) for the beforehand talked about Flaherty. Regardless of the sluggish marketing campaign for Liranzo, who in whole was hitting .220 with seven dwelling runs on the season, he was seen because the headliner of the commerce. In a deadline that noticed lots of prospects moved, however not lots of top-tiered prospects moved, some believed that he was the very best prospect to change organizations.
Properly, Liranzo proved these believers to be proper. He stayed at Excessive-A upon becoming a member of the Tigers group and from then till the tip of the season, he might have simply been the very best hitter in all of minor league baseball. The catcher appeared in 26 video games following the commerce and triple-slashed a ridiculous .315/.470/562, including in 5 dwelling runs. That was good for a .247 ISO, and, naturally, Liranzo walked at a ridiculous 22.6% fee. Maybe most encouragingly, he reduce his strikeout fee all the way in which all the way down to 17.4% throughout this span.
So what modified? In fact, 26 video games shouldn’t be a big pattern, so something right here could also be thought of simply the results of small pattern dimension however beneath the hood it appears like there have been some small adjustments for Liranzo. In these 74 video games with the Dodgers, Liranzo had a groundball fee of 44.2%. With Detroit? That quantity dropped to 38.8%. Equally, Liranzo had been a pull-heavy hitter all through his minor league profession however had seen his pull fee dip to a career-low 45.3% with Los Angeles, and his reverse discipline fee enhance to a career-high 31.5%. In Detroit, we noticed his numbers return to what we had seen in earlier seasons—a 50.7% pull fee and a 17.4% reverse discipline fee.
So perhaps Liranzo’s surge with Detroit is straightforward—he adjusted to Excessive-A pitching because the season went on, and began doing what he does finest: pulling the ball and hitting it within the air. On the floor, his 2024 might look simply positive—a triple slash of .244/.378/.408 with 12 dwelling runs in 100 video games is promising, particularly for a switch-hitting catcher. But when Liranzo’s August and September with Detroit are a sign of what 2025 will convey, then Liranzo is much more thrilling than what his season-long numbers point out.
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Trying Forward
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So the place does Liranzo’s inventory test in following the up-and-down 2024? By midseason, his gradual begin slid him out of most High 100s. Heading into 2025, he’s again in. Catchers with this kind of offensive upside don’t come round fairly often, so after they do, the positional worth they provide gives a lift for fantasy functions.
The long-term query with Liranzo is whether or not or not he’ll keep at catcher long-term. With the Dodgers, he caught in 44 video games, DH’d for six video games, and performed first in 24 video games. With Detroit, he was behind the dish for 13 video games and the DH for 13 video games. So it’s fascinating to notice that he didn’t seem at first base for a single inning with the Tigers. Anticipate that to alter in a full season’s value of video games in 2025. Groups don’t wish to run their catching prospects out on the catching place each day, and a prospect that may play a number of positions is definitely extra precious. And provided that there are some questions on whether or not or not Liranzo will be capable to catch on the MLB stage, it solely is smart for Detroit to offer him a crack at one other place. In the end, he most likely performs sufficient catcher within the bigs to keep up eligibility whereas additionally taking part in first and DH a good quantity to maintain his bat within the lineup.
With that in thoughts, for dynasty baseball functions, Liranzo is considerably of a reduction Samuel Basallo. Basallo hit his technique to Triple-A as a teenage-catching prospect and is universally seen as the most effective prospects within the sport. Liranzo might not have fairly the upside of Basallo, however there might be some related manufacturing right here as they’re each bat-first prospects who will seemingly break up time between catcher and first base as soon as they make it to the best stage.
We most likely received’t see Liranzo within the majors till 2026 or so, however he makes a logical pairing with one other Tigers catcher in Dillon Dingler. Dingler made the bigs this season however solely appeared in 27 video games. He’s a defense-first backstop whose bat got here to life in Triple-A in 2024, however there are not any doubts that Liranzo has the higher offensive ground and ceiling. With these two catchers having completely different strengths, it’s straightforward to ascertain a cohesive catching duo for the Tigers within the not-too-distant future.
