LAKELAND, Fla. — Down the road from the Detroit Tigers’ facility at a Tampa Topgolf, Thayron Liranzo’s education continued.

The switch-hitting catcher whom the Tigers acquired at last summer’s deadline partook in Detroit’s annual catchers’ outing. This year, lead backstop Jake Rogers suggested Topgolf over a traditional dinner. Liranzo, who hails from the Dominican Republic, swung a golf club for the first time.

“He may never swing one again,” manager A.J. Hinch joked two days later. “We need him to swing a bat.”

The golf hack was ugly. Liranzo topped his first few swings and barely got the ball off the bay. But this is an elite athlete we’re talking about. He is a hitter who posted a 1.031 OPS at High-A West Michigan after the trade deadline, then tore up the Arizona Fall League to the tune of a 1.158 OPS.

“It was tough,” Rogers said of Liranzo’s swing. “But he’s coachable, man.”

With help from Hinch and some of the Tigers’ coaches, Liranzo’s golf swing improved greatly by the end of the night.

“He was hitting it pretty good,” Rogers said. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought. Give him one more year and he might be on the tour.”

Bunch of studs and I ain’t talkin 2x4s#catchersdinner pic.twitter.com/972G8346HV

— Jake Rogers (@_JROG_) February 19, 2025

Consider the golf lessons just one more step in Liranzo’s ongoing development. He came to the Tigers along with shortstop Trey Sweeney in exchange for Jack Flaherty. At the time, scouts were split on Liranzo. He had struggled in the first half of the year, hitting just .220 at High-A Great Lakes. He boasted an imposing frame, powerful switch-hitting ability and a rocket arm. But his receiving behind the plate could be ugly. Despite his arm strength, he threw out only 15 percent of runners last season.

But by the end of the year, Liranzo was validating the Tigers’ decision to trade for him. He jumped into top-100 prospect lists, coming in at No. 47 in Keith Law’s ranking for The Athletic. He was one of few lower-level Tigers prospects to earn an invite to major-league spring training.

“One reason why we invited Liranzo is because he’s a catcher, so his development plan requires a few more reps than a position player,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said. “He has to get more comfortable with our game planning. He has to be able to learn and catch our pitchers. He has to be around our pitching coaches. He has to work with (catching coach) Ryan Sienko every single day on some of the receiving nuances we prioritize in the big leagues.”

Liranzo got to Lakeland early and began focusing on his receiving. His defensive development will play a large role in determining the player he becomes. If Liranzo can master the art of catching and reach his potential with the bat, he has the makings of a fearsome player. But if he struggles, has to move to first base or becomes a glorified DH, the threshold for his bat could become impossibly high.

This spring, Liranzo has worked closely with Rogers and other more senior catchers to refine his technique.

“I’m blessed to have an opportunity to deal with Jake Rogers,” Liranzo said through an interpreter. “He’s been on top of me all the time, giving me advice. … Fortunately, I’m a quick learner, so that gives me the advantage of putting into practice what they just told me.”

The Tigers believe Liranzo has made progress. Coachability, after all.

“We’ve been working hard on some stuff,” Rogers said. “All the framing stuff looks really good. He’s gotten a lot better. He really is a quick learner.”

Liranzo has a bubbly personality, a big smile and a welcoming demeanor. There’s a swing that looks like Kendrys Morales’ and a makeup similar to that of Salvador Perez. Here in spring training, he relished the fact he got to face Flaherty — the player he was traded for last summer — in a live batting practice.

“I was like, ‘OK, we will have a duel down here,’” Liranzo said.

Liranzo saw five pitches from Flaherty that day. He swung only once and belted a fly ball off the center-field fence. Liranzo said he thought it would be an out in a game.

“The most important part,” he joked, “is I secured myself not striking out against him.”

Now a fixture in early spring training games, Liranzo boasts a big leg kick that hints at his power but could create timing issues as he begins facing more high-end velocity. Liranzo does not have a hit in his first five at-bats. But Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins, restraint was Liranzo’s most impressive trait. He walked three times in three plate appearances. The Tigers gave the 21-year-old the green light in a 3-0 count, but Liranzo took a slider in the dirt.

“He certainly has a lot to offer,” Hinch said. “But I’m mostly impressed by his demeanor in an environment that should be a really big deal for him.”

Liranzo is quickly settling in, and he will play behind the plate Thursday. He projects to spend most of this upcoming season in Double A, but there might be many more golf outings in his future.

“Again, he’s an incredible talent,” Rogers said. “He really is. I think he’s gonna be a great player. I truly do.”

(Photo: Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)