Ethan Salas, Liranzo, Briceno, Termarr & More
Oct 29, 2024
Author: 3-1Count.com
It was both my first night game and my first trip to Scottsdale Stadium this year. It’s a beautiful ballpark, particularly at night. And given the lack of sun cover for the stands I generally avoid it during the day anyway. I grabbed some pictures coming in as well as pregame and game to better share the facility with you.
I did skip yesterday’s day game in Surprise. Just to give myself a break, avoid driving across the Valley, and to run a few errands. That game was a slugfest at 13-7 so of course I passed on it for a 3-1 game. I love a 3-1 game normally, but in the Arizona Fall League we want the fireworks. Particularly for video and evaluating talent.
Ok, on to prospect notes. Last night did offer me my first in-person look at Termarr Johnson PIT. He led off for the Scorpions and went 0-2 with 2 BB’s and 2 K’s. Which kinda feels like a Termarr thing to do. What I mean by this is that Termarr has walked a lot in his pro career - while not hitting for average and also striking out more than you would want or expect for someone with his expected profile.
Termarr remains a tantalizing player. The Pittsburgh Pirates took him 4th overall in 2022 for good reasons and Fangraphs currently has him 2nd in the organization and 51st overall. This with a 50 FV that has surprising 60 grade raw power from his 5’7 frame. The hit tool is the big question mark and you can see that at work even here in the AFL. With just a taste of AA under his belt Termarr will return to Altoona for the 2025 season. Which will be his 4th pro season and easily his most important.
Jett Williams NYM had a night to forget at the plate going 0-4 with 3 K’s. Which brings him to 19 K’s (tied for 4th) across 46 AFL at-bats. Williams has played noticeably solid defense here, but he has just been overmatched in the box. Despite getting a taste of AAA last year I am increasingly curious to see if the Mets choose to assign him back to AA to start 2025. I would, I think it would be best developmentally.
Anyone following the AFL is aware of Josue Briceno DET at this point. That happens when you hit .442 and lead the league in home runs with 7. We’ve talked a lot about Briceno already and I’ll add that this is not just AFL hype. He can legit hit and does damage. I expect Briceno to start next season at High A and reach AA at least. The big question for his progress is where can he play. Thayron Liranzo is a more advanced catching prospect (at least IMO) for the Detroit Tigers. So Briceno may be moving towards a 1B/DH tag, which isn’t ideal. But with a 50 grade hit tool, 60 raw, and a sound approach Briceno looks the part of a future major league bat.
The previously mentioned Thayron Liranzo DET was mostly off my radar coming into the AFL. That’s changed. Particularly after watching him more closely last night. Fangraphs has Liranzo as a 50 FV prospect, built on 70 raw but only 35 hit and 40 field. It’s just a handful of games but Liranzo looks well beyond the 35 hit grade and also better than a 40 behind the dish. For AFL purposes Liranzo is leading all catchers with a .424 batting average, .758 slug, and 1.244 OPS. That’s 8 XBH’s out of 14 hits in 33 at bats.
I ended up getting less video than normal last night. In part because it was a slow game. Also because grabbing video at night, through a net, with inadequate lighting is just a challenge. And I didn’t shoot as much because I ended up in a fun conversation with Chris Clegg and Eric Cross about all things baseball. You can find both of these guys on X and contributing across the industry (Chris: https://x.com/ChrisCleggMiLB Eric: https://x.com/EricCross04).
At one point Chris asked me who was the best player I saw at AA this year. And I didn’t have an answer. And I still don’t. Names come to mind like Tyler Locklear SEA, Luke Keaschall MIN, Gavin Cross KC, Alejandro Osuna TEX and others but there just wasn’t a standout this season for me. In previous years I could have quickly answered Trea Turner or Alex Bregman or Yordan Alvarez or Julio Rodriguez. But this year, no one jumped out the way those players did.
Switching gears to Sunday’s lone game, I created some compilation videos for a couple of key players. The first one is of Ethan Salas SD. Despite turning 18yo in June of this year Salas is holding his own in the AFL. Currently hitting .313 with 12 RBI and 8 BB’s against 16 K’s. That’s a 33% K rate, which is higher than the 21% he carried at High A this year. And it’s indicative of playing against more advanced talent.
The thing is, Salas carries himself well. He looks confident, not phased by the aggressive assignment. I’ve watched him several times now and have been impressed with his ability to work an at bat. I wish I had it on video when he struck out and talked to himself the entire way back to the dugout. That intensity and focus, particularly in the AFL, stands out to me. That’s a competitor and it’s a difference making quality.
My plan today is to catch the Desert Dogs v Rafters day game. This will be at Salt River Fields - probably my favorite park here and one I have not yet been to this year. There’s a chance I catch some of the night game in Mesa as well but I think I will most likely watch game 4 of the World Series instead. I mean, the New York Yankees have to win at least one game. Right?!?
I’ll leave you with this shot from last night. It resonates with me knowing how much work players put in getting to this point of their careers. When the fans aren’t there these guys are still doing the work to get better and compete at the highest levels. I worked in the minor leagues a long, long time ago. In a front office role. And my favorite part of every game day was the last couple of hours before the stadium started to fill up. This picture represents a lot of the reason why.
Pregame at Scottsdale Stadium - 2024 Arizona Fall League
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