Tigers prospects Josue Briceño, Thayron Liranzo emerged as stars and friends in the AFL

DETROIT Josue Briceno and Thayron Liranzo spent nearly every waking moment together in the Arizona Fall League.

They played together, roomed together, talked ball together, played video games together.

It was their first time as teammates.

Their first chance to get to know each other.

And a relationship that could play a key role in the Detroit Tigers future.

Advertisement Hes a great guy, a great ballplayer, Briceno said of Liranzo, speaking through an interpreter on a recent video call.

I never knew him before.

I had never heard of him before.

We took advantage of each other the most because first of all we speak the same language (Spanish) and we stayed in the same house.

We talked a lot about the game or how to improve ourselves, things that we should be doing differently or better.

This time one year ago, Briceno was largely an unknown in the Tigers system.

He was a big lefty hitter with an imposing physique.

He hit .298 in a short stint with Class-A Lakeland.

But he was young and raw and a bit unproven.

Liranzo, meanwhile, was a well-regarded prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers system, nowhere near the radar on the road to Detroit.

But by spring training of this past season, Briceno was emerging as a name to watch.

And by this summer, Liranzo was traded to the Tigers along with Trey Sweeney in the deal that sent Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers.

The two bashers starred as teammates with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League.

Liranzo played catcher and hit .375 with two home runs in 48 at-bats.

Briceno, who also has experience at catcher, played exclusively first base and DH.

He hit .433 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs in 25 games, winning the AFL Triple Crown as a result of his dominant performance.

Along the way, both hitters overcame different challenges.

Bricenos shot at a breakout year was thrown off course when he sprained the PCL in his right knee during a rundown in May.

Briceno said he didnt feel pain until he rose from the ground and headed back toward the dugout.

He thought it would be a minor injury.

It ended up costing him most of the summer.

He played in only 40 games this year at Class-A Lakeland.

It gave me a little more maturity, a new maturity, Briceno said.

But it was hard at the beginning, working so hard in the offseason just to be ready for the season itself, and then all of a sudden this injury happens.

Liranzo, meanwhile, came to the Tigers system midyear.

At the beginning, it was a little bit tough joining a new organization, he said.

It took me about a week to get acclimated.

His stint at the Dodgers Class-A affiliate had been disappointing.

He posted only a .700 OPS and struck out 82 times in 314 plate appearances.

His trade to the Tigers drew questions at the time: Did the Tigers receive enough? That narrative has quickly changed.

Sweeney, the other player in the deal, went on toward a major role in the Tigers push to the playoffs, and Liranzo emerged as a force at High-A West Michigan.

The switch-hitting catcher swatted the ball to the tune of a .315 average.

He launched five home runs and posted a 1.031 OPS over 26 games with the Whitecaps.

His torrid performance only continued in the AFL.

Advertisement The Tigers system has long struggled to produce from the international pipeline.

Briceno, who signed with the Tigers for $800,000 in 2022 and is from Venezuela, could be Detroits next best shot at changing that reputation.

The two players share many similarities, and defense will play a major role in determining their futures.

Despite playing first base and DH in the fall league, Briceno said the Tigers have not had any official conversation about moving him away from catcher.

I can play anywhere, both catching and first base, Briceno said, but if I can keep catching that will make me happier, because thats what I do.

I am a catcher.

Briceno said he paid close attention to Liranzos technique behind the plate in the fall league.

For Liranzo, who is from the Dominican Republic, receiving and pitch framing were a critical focus as he looks to prove he can stick at catcher, which would make him an immensely more valuable prospect.

Despite rave reviews for his arm strength, Liranzo threw out only 16 of 108 attempted base stealers in the minors this season.

My key goal is to stay as a catcher, Liranzo said.

Thats what I love to do, and I want to highlight one of the things that is important to me is I want to prove that to my manager and my teammates.

In the batters box, Briceno began to thrive thanks in part to small adjustments the Tigers staff helped him implement.

He developed a more athletic stance that kept his knees from locking.

He raised his hands from what had previously been an unusually low position and tweaked the angles of his wrists in his swing.

The results in the fall league were undeniable, and Briceno was surprised when fall league staffers approached him holding crowns before asking him to do a commemorative photo shoot.

I was like, Why? Whats going on here? Briceno said.

"I feel very proud and I can start from there [next year]." After an injury initially made 2024 seem like a lost season, Josue Briceno won the AFL's Triple Crown, putting himself to the forefront of must-watch #Tigers prospects: https://t.co/mFisNH6U7l pic.twitter.com/4LFzklZZXO MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 23, 2024 Liranzo wowed when he launched a 437-foot walk-off home run in the AFL All-Star Game and earned the games MVP honors.

Aside from the booming exit velocities, he focused on learning his pitchers and said his defensive strides received positive views from West Michigan manager Bryan Pena.

Along the way, the two hitters shared many conversations.

Briceno loved to pick Liranzos brain about his hitting approach, why he remains aggressive in 3-2 counts, his perspective having come up in a different organization.

Liranzo surely learned a thing or two from Briceno, too.

Now, together, these two young hitters have emerged as potential forces in the Tigers farm system.

It was pretty nice to get a relationship with him, (being) all-stars, being teammates and also roommates, Liranzo said of Briceno.

(Top photo of Thayron Liranzo: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.