Top Detroit Tigers Hitting Prospect Praised for Elite Swing Tendencies
There are plenty of ways to grade baseball prospects these days, and everyone is looking for an edge to project how they’ll perform at the Major League level when they’re ready.
Prospects that become elite hitters tend to have elite tendencies at the plate. Recently, Baseball America dove into what it called four different “swing decisions,” each of which provides a window into how prospects approach their work at the plate.
To accomplish this, the site reviewed all minor-league hitters with at least 200 plate appearances in 2024. Each hitter’s performance was charted to determine their in-zone swing percentage and their chase percentage.
The hitters that were determined to make “elite swing decisions” were the ones that, simplified, swung at strikes and didn’t swing at balls.
The Detroit Tigers had a prospect fall in this category and he only joined the organization in late July — catcher Thayron Liranzo.
Hitters found to make those elite swing decisions swung at pitches in the strike zone more than 74% and swing at balls less than 27%.
The site didn’t provide Liranzo’s exact percentages, but the plot provided in the article indicated he swung at pitches in the strike zone about 75-76% and only swung at balls close to 19%.
This is just one of many reasons the Tigers sent him to the Arizona Fall League after the conclusion of the minor-league regular season.
Liranzo came with shortstop Trey Sweeney in the Jack Flaherty trade. Sweeney made his Tigers debut in August, but Detroit knew that Liranzo would need a bit more time, as he was at High-A Great Lakes when the deal was struck.
Between Great Lakes and the Tigers’ High-A West Michigan Whitecaps, Liranzo had a slash line of was .244/.378/.408/.786 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI. But his numbers went up once he joined the Whitecaps. He played in 26 games and finished with a slash line of .315/.470/.562 with five homers and more walks (26) than strikeouts (20).
He put on a more powerful display in 2023 with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. He finished with a slash line of .272/.400/.562/.962 with a career-high 24 home runs and 70 RBI.
With Scottsdale in the AFL he’s put those elite swing decisions on display. In just nine games he has a slash line of .424/.486/.758/1.244 with a home run and four RBI. He’s put up the best numbers of any catcher on the team. He also has the third-best OPS of any qualifying AFL hitter.
His AFL performance should put him in line for a promotion to Double-A Erie next season. He’s also developing flexibility at first base. Detroit doesn’t have to rush him, as they have young prospect Dillon Dingler, who made his debut in July.
