LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Tigers surged to the top spot in MLB Pipeline's 2025 preseason farm system rankings, and two large reasons for the jump involved late-season breakouts by catching prospects Thayron Liranzo (now ranked as the No. 81 overall prospect) and Josue Briceño (No. 94).

The switch-hitting Liranzo slashed .315/.470/.562 with five homers, 26 walks and 20 strikeouts in 26 games for High-A West Michigan after his midseason trade from the Dodgers and continued to show out with a 1.158 OPS in the Arizona Fall League. Briceño, who missed much of the 2024 summer with a PCL sprain in his right knee, was the AFL’s Triple Crown winner with a .433 average, 10 homers and 27 RBIs.

Liranzo is only 21, Briceño 20. Neither has upper-level experience, and before they get the chance to bump up against each other in the Detroit system, you might note that both have the 1B designation included in their prospect profiles.

“We love the versatility,” Tigers assistant general manager Ryan Garko said. “You know how A.J. [Hinch] manages.”

What that 1B means is different in both cases.

Briceño was first base-only in the Fall League as Detroit tried to avoid him getting in the squat as a catcher and reaggravating the knee issue. He’s donning the tools of ignorance once again this spring in backfield work but has only appeared at the cold corner during his occasional forays into Florida’s Major League stadiums, including in the Grapefruit League and in Sunday’s Spring Breakout game.

With his considerable size and advanced approach, the 6-foot-4 left-handed slugger should be ready to push up the Detroit chain because of his bat. But the Tigers will take a more cautious approach to his defensive work.

“We'll probably have him on some type of schedule for catching beginning of the year, like twice a week or three times a week and build in some off days just because it's been a while since he's caught,” Garko said. “But he's full go, and he looks really good. The one thing he did during his rehab was he really reshaped his body. He’s in great shape and more flexible. Some of the positions he's getting in back there, like getting out of his stance to make throws, it's looked really good. He still has to build up full strength in the knee, so we'll be careful with him.”

Liranzo, on the other hand, is looking more advanced behind the plate. That may make more sense given he’s older and more experienced than Briceño, but in terms of future outlook, he seems the likeliest of the pair to stick at catcher. At 6-foot-2, he also provides a large target back there, and scouts who saw him in the Fall League were impressed by the strength and accuracy of his throws.

On the offensive side, Garko notes that the Tigers didn’t do much to change Liranzo after the trade and let his “pretty low-maintenance swing” do the talking as he continued to adjust to High-A pitching. Their excitement for the player has only increased this spring.

“The bat is so good that, I think sometimes you think the catching is not going to be up to speed with it,” he said. “But the arm is really strong, and the exchange is clean. I think he’s done a great job with Ryan Sienko, our Major League catching coach, as we clean up some of the moves. … He’s come to camp in great shape, which was one of our biggest goals for him. The body looks great.

“He’s a catcher. We’re not really seeing any holes back there.”

So with Liranzo likely ticketed for full-time catching duty out of the gate in 2025 (with the occasional first-base duty thrown in when in need of a breather) and Briceño headed for part-time (at least to begin the season), it’s worth wondering if the Tigers would push the two together earlier than expected. What happens, say, if Briceño’s hitting ability looks Double-A-ready, but his glovework plays at a High-A level? Detroit’s plan, at least right now, is to lean into its Top 100 prospects’ strengths.

“We can keep working on the defense,” Garko said, “and let the bat play where it needs to play.”

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Something new: Jackson Jobe
It was the Spring Training quote to end all Spring Training quotes.

"I’m done with trying to dot a gnat’s [butt],” Jobe said on March 13. “Here’s my stuff. If you hit it, great. Odds are, you’re probably not.”

MLB's No. 5 overall prospect was talking about trusting his stuff in the zone more and stopping trying to get whiffs on the very edges of the zone -- an approach that led to an elevated walk rate in 2024. But it’s more than a mental switch that the 22-year-old has undergone this spring. He’s also famously added a 95-97 mph sinker to give hitters another fastball look and a low-80s curveball that’s replaced his previous plus-plus sweeper. That new breaker (which he previously had in high school) also regularly sports spin rates around 3,000 rpm. Ho-hum, just another weapon for the best pitching prospect in baseball not named Roki Sasaki.

Since he was drafted third overall in 2021, Jobe has constantly and successfully tinkered with his arsenal, including adding more velo and ride to his four-seamer, folding in a cutter and adjusting the grip on his changeup. It’s the pitching version of that aforementioned versatility, and it’s what has him very much in contention for a rotation spot out of camp.

“He’s just a really good athlete that plays baseball,” Garko said. “For him, it translated to being able to create shapes, and more than anything when our coaches are talking about trying something, he seems to be able to pick it up really quickly. We call it hand talent. I think it’s something you see certain pitchers have -- that ability to move the ball both ways, get some ride, get some sink. He’s one of those special pitchers that’s also hyperathletic, strong and has the aptitude and work ethic.”

Something to prove: Jace Jung
Detroit stayed in the Alex Bregman sweepstakes until the very end, but once it missed out on the two-time All-Star, the competition for the third-base spot became an internal one.

Jung had plenty to prove to win the job after getting a taste of the Majors last year but going just 19-for-79 (.241) with no homers during the regular season. Right wrist issues may have been partly to blame, and he underwent offseason surgery to address them. But even that only went so far as the 2022 first-rounder struggled for much of the spring, going 4-for-33 (.121) with one homer and 10 strikeouts in 14 games. The Tigers optioned him to Triple-A Toledo on Monday.

Jung’s previous history of hitting in the Minors with strong OBPs and slugging percentages suggest he should take to the International League fine offensively. But the defense will remain worth monitoring after he’s bounced from third base to second back to third in search of a full-time defensive home.

“Third base is more reactionary, and I think we’re starting to see those reactions look cleaner and faster,” Garko said. “He’s more confident. If he needs to come and get the ball, he comes and gets it. If he needs to back up, he can do that. The throws have always been good. So I think you see a more confident version of him. The key is more reps, right? We just have to give him more reps.”

Breakout candidate: Carson Rucker
The 2023 fourth-rounder could be a bit of a forgotten man, even in his own organization. Signed above slot as a Tennessee prepster for $772,500, Rucker played only four games in May in the Florida Complex League last year before suffering a left shoulder injury that required season-ending labrum surgery.

Now that he’s been back this spring, he can show off the impressive pullside pop that made him an intriguing Draft prospect in the first place and could take off as part of the Tigers’ lower-level infield depth alongside 2024 first-rounder Bryce Rainer and upstart prospect Franyerber Montilla.

“He was another guy who took the rehab process to not only work on his shoulder but to transform his body,” Garko said. “It was like his freshman year in college. He just got to go in the weight room and lift. He came back this second year, put on some great weight and is really strong. The shoulder’s back healthy. For people who hadn’t seen him in a while from up in Detroit, it’s been fun for them to see him."