Tigers Need Top Catching Prospect to Take Big Step After Disappointing 2025
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Catcher is a position that can bedevil some organizations. The Detroit Tigers are fortunate at the Major League level.
Dillon Dingler’s development has been a bright spot for the franchise. The second-round pick in 2020 has grown into a solid double-threat, with a quality bat and a defensive mindset that led to winning an American League Gold Glove last season. He slashed .278/.327/.425 with 13 home runs and 57 RBI in 126 games.
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Dingler is the starter, without question. Jake Rogers is there to back him up. Also on the 40-man roster is Thayron Liranzo, a player Detroit hopes bounces back from an underwhelming 2025. Baseball America (subscription required) highlighted him recently as a bounce-back prospect for 2026.
Thayron Liranzo’s Major League Path
Liranzo, a former Los Angele Dodgers prospect, came with shortstop Trey Sweeney in the Jack Flaherty trade in 2024. Flaherty won a World Series ring and returned to the Tigers. Sweeney made his Tigers debut that August. Liranzo was the longer-term play for Detroit. At the time, Dingler had made his MLB debut and was struggling at the plate.
Hitting hadn’t been an issue for Liranzo. In 2024 he slashed .244/.378/.408/.786 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI. But his numbers went up when he joined the Tigers organization, with a slash of .315/.470/.562 with five homers and more walks (26) than strikeouts (20). His numbers soared in the Arizona Fall League, with a slash of .424/.486/.758/1.244 with a home run and four RBI in nine games. He was praised by scouts as a hitter with elite plate discipline who avoided chase.
A promotion to Double-A Erie was in order. Then things went haywire. In his first season at a higher-level affiliate, he slashed .206/.308/.351 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI. He played in 88 games and did not spend any time on the injured list. It was a career-worst slash.
So, what happened? Liranzo may have had a simple regression based on facing a higher level of pitching. Catching isn’t easy. Players like Dingler and Liranzo must focus on calling pitches, calling signals to the infield in certain situations along with hitting and those decisions get more complex at higher affiliates.
A bounce-back season for Liranzo banks on his track record. Before 2025 he never batted worse than .236 in a single season and produced double-digit home runs three seasons in a row. Track records like that don’t tend to disappear overnight never to return.
Detroit has something on the line, too. Rogers is a free agent after the season. Ideally, Liranzo would reclaim his bat, get to Triple-A Toledo and give the Tigers a ready-made back-up for Dingler with a plus bat. But Liranzo must prove it first.
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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