Three High-Rising Detroit Tigers Prospects Selected for Arizona Fall League
While the Detroit Tigers have made a historic surge for their first postseason berth in a decade, the farm system drew attention with the Tigers’ selections to the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday.
Among the eight Detroit players selected were three of the Tigers’ Top 30 prospects as ranked by MLB Pipeline — catcher/first baseman Thayron Liranzo (No. 6), catcher/first baseman Josue Briceño (No. 9) and right-handed pitcher Eric Silva (No. 27).
The other five Tigers selected were right-handed pitchers Rayner Castillo, Wilmer Flores and CJ Weins; left-handed pitcher Jake Miller and shortstop Peyton Graham.
Liranzo will be the most-watched of the trio, as he came to the organization in the Jack Flaherty trade at the deadline. The other player the Tigers acquired, shortstop Trey Sweeney, is already in the Majors.
Detroit assigned Liranzo to High-A West Michigan and had a slash line of .315/.470/.562 with five homers and more walks (26) than strikeouts (20) over 26 games. Combined he batted .244 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI.
Briceño missed much of the season with a PCL strain. But, before the injury, he had a slash line of .278/.381/.377/.758 in 40 games with Class-A Lakeland. The 20-year-old also had two home runs and 22 RBI.
Silva, a 21-year-old who was originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2021, was also dealt to the Tigers during the season and he wrapped up his year with Double-A Erie, where he went 0-2 with a 5.60 ERA in 13 games. Combined, the reliever had 41 appearances with a 4-4 record, a 4.73 ERA, two saves and four holds.
Detroit will play with the Scottsdale Scorpions in Scottsdale, Ariz., the spring training home of the San Francisco Giants. The Tigers prospects will play alongside prospects from the Giants, the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The other five teams in the AFL play in Glendale, Mesa, Peoria, Salt River and Surprise.
AFL action starts on Oct. 7 and since it was founded in 1992 more than 3,000 players have participated and moved on to the Majors at some point.
During the season, there are several special events, including a tripleheader at Goodyear Ballpark on Oct. 19, a game at Grand Canyon University on Oct. 25 and a doubleheader at American Family Fields of Phoenix on Oct. 26.
The Fall Stars game is set for Nov. 9 at Sloan Park, with the annual home run derby set for Nov. 8.
When the season concludes on Nov. 14, there will be a play-in semifinal game between the second- and third-place finishers in the standings on Nov. 15 at Scottsdale Stadium. The championship game is held the next day at Salt River Fields.
