Young Detroit Tigers Slugger Has Found Power Swing in Arizona Fall League
One of the shortcomings that the Detroit Tigers had during their incredible run this past season was a lack of power in their lineup.
Elite pitching and timely hitting helped the team, but they lacked a true power threat in the middle of their order. Expect that to be something the front office looks to address this offseason, whether it is in free agency or a trade.
The franchise is in a good spot, so they don’t have to get overly aggressive. Some patience can be exhibited as natural development and progression from their young players could produce a power hitter.
One of the intriguing players in the farm system they have to be excited about potentially filling that role down the road is Josue Briceno.
The No. 9 ranked prospect in their pipeline, he has been putting on a show in the Arizona Fall League. He has been one of the standout performers at the plate, landing a spot on Joe Trezza’s top performers from the second week of competition.
“Briceño followed up his excellent opening week – which included a three-homer game – with an enormous Week 2, pacing the AFL with nine hits, two homers and 17 total bases over the past seven days. The 20-year-old already has more than twice the number of home runs in the Fall League than he did in 40 games at Single-A Lakeland, where he finished the regular season,” wrote Trezza for MLB.com.
In 35 plate appearances, he has already launched five home runs and knocked in 10. His slash line currently sits at a video game-like .469/.514/1.000 as he has been tattooing the baseball with regularity.
Briceno is currently first in total bases in the AFL and second in home runs.
The road to the MLB is still a long one for him to travel, as he is only 20 years old with 51 games of A-Ball under his belt. But, the Tigers have to be excited about what the future could hold.
This is an incredible display of power he has displayed in the desert. It will be interesting to see how Detroit plays this as they have another young catcher, Thayron Liranzo, who is also playing.
He was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with Trey Sweeney, in the Jack Flaherty deal and has been performing well in Arizona as well. He doesn’t have the prodigious power numbers of Briceno but has recorded a slash line of .421/.500/.790.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.