Jesus Liranzo

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Baltimore Orioles #19 prospect in 2018
  Atlanta released Liranzo in 2013, and the Orioles saw him take off after he recovered from 2014 elbow surgery. He was stateside by 2016, but because the team had to evaluate him for the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft, he was pushed from low Class A Delmarva to Double-A Bowie and showed enough to be protected last winter. After displaying uncharacteristically strong command in big league camp, Liranzo went back to Bowie for the 2017 season and struggled badly. Carrying a 6.85 ERA in early June, Liranzo got on the same schedule as Tanner Scott, which saw him make three-inning starts every fifth game to allow him to work on his mechanics between starts. That improved his results a bit, but his lack of control produced a career-high 5.95 walks per nine innings, even as he struck out 10.38 per nine. Liranzo has an electric arm with an above-average, mid-90s fastball, while featuring a slider and a splitter, but his arm lags behind his body in his delivery, causing his control to fail him. Liranzo's velocity makes him an intriguing middle-inning bullpen piece if he can stay around the strike zone, but his inconsistency could prevent him from being anything more.
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  Ranked Baltimore Orioles #13 prospect in 2017
  Liranzo entered 2016 with only 52 pro innings under his belt but ended the season at Double-A Bowie and claimed a 40-man roster spot. The Braves originally signed him out of the Dominican Republic in May 2012 but released him the next season. The Orioles signed Liranzo in July 2013, but that fall he had a screw inserted in his arm to repair a fracture at the tip of his elbow, so he missed all of 2014. Finally healthy, he made his stateside debut in 2016 and flourished. Liranzo struck out 66 and allowed just 20 hits in 53 innings as he jumped from low Class A Delmarva straight to Double-A in late July. Pitching from a three-quarters arm slot, he showed a fastball-slider combination that overpowered hitters. His fastball sat 94-95 mph and touched 97 with sink and run away from lefthanded batters. He can spot his slider for strikes and mixes in a splitter to neutralize lefty batters, but overall his control remains below-average with 5.1 walks per nine innings in his career. Healthy and live-armed, Liranzo could see time in the Orioles bullpen in 2017 as long as he improves his control.