Top Performers From The Arizona Fall League 2024 Fall Stars Game
Image credit: Tigers C Thayron Liranzo (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
The Arizona Fall League held its annual Fall Stars Game on Nov. 9 at Sloan Park, and the American League won in dramatic fashion. Tigers catcher Thayron Liranzo hit the decisive home run in the top of the ninth before Rangers closer Marc Church finished the game by working around two hits and racking up a pair of strikeouts.
Yankees righthander Carlos Lagrange earned the win by finishing the eighth inning before Liranzo’s home run. Griff McGarry, who allowed the blast, took the loss.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the other top performers from the evening in the desert.
Best Power — Thayron Liranzo, C, Tigers: Surprise, surprise, Liranzo takes this category. The physical backstop has some of the best power in Detroit’s system and he showed it by annihilating McGarry’s pitch for a no-doubt blast to right field.
Best Hitter — Jac Caglianone, 1B, Royals: Caglianone might only have finished the game with one hit, but he reached base in all three plate appearances, including a pair of walks. The one hit he did have was impressive. Facing hard-throwing Dodgers righty Eriq Swan, Caglianone got an elevated fastball and lashed it the opposite way into the left field corner. The two-bagger showed both hittability and impact potential on a pitch many might have tried to lift and pull.
Best Defensive Play (Infield) — Jett Williams, SS, Mets: With runners on second and third and two outs, Red Sox prospect Max Ferguson hit a soft line drive to the right of second base which seemed destined for grass. Not on Williams’ watch. The speedy Mets prospect ranged to his left, leaped and snared the ball out of the air. The catch ended the inning and potentially saved two runs.
Best Defensive Play (Outfield) — Zyhir Hope, OF, Dodgers: With one out in the fourth inning, Alejandro Osuna lofted a ball to deep right field. Hope ranged back, assessed his distance from the wall, timed his leap and the made the grab. In doing so, he took extra bases—if not a home run—away from Osuna and kept the bases clean behind system-mate Eriq Swan.
Best Baserunning — Denzel Clarke, OF, Athletics: Facing Chase Solesky with a runner on first in the top of the sixth inning, Clarke shot a single into center field. The runner, Caleb Durbin (Yankees) motored to third on the play, just ahead of the throw from Andrew Pintar (Marlins). Seizing on the opportunity, Clarke gambled and made a break for second base. The throw from Juan Baez (Brewers) was in plenty of time, but Clarke executed a perfect swim move to evade the waiting tag from Tommy Troy (D-backs). Effort and creativity from Clarke made for a nifty highlight.
Best Pitching Performance — Samy Natera Jr., LHP, Angels: One of the more interesting pop-up prospects this AFL took his talents to prime time and struck out three of the four hitters he faced in his inning. Natera allowed a single to Pirates outfielder Sammy Siani but got Robert Hassell III, Jonathon Long and Gino Groover on strikes. Hassell and Long’s Ks were looking and Groover went down swinging at an elevated fastball.
Best Fastball — Carlos Lagrange, RHP, Yankees: Lagrange’s outing was short, but he made a big impression. Facing Rockies prospect Skyler Messinger, Lagrange uncorked a 99 mph heater with explosive life up in the zone. The pitch appeared to rise and got a wild swing and miss from Messinger. A few pitches later, Lagrange got Messinger to strike out on a similar pitch. He also used his heater to get a borderline sword-style whiff from D-backs prospect Tommy Troy.
Best Breaking Ball (tie) — Marc Church, RHP, Rangers: Church, who made his big league debut late in the 2024 season, got two looking strikeouts in his scoreless ninth, but he also got four whiffs, including a pair on nasty sliders against Juan Baez (Brewers) and Sammy Siani (Pirates). The pitches turned both players into knots, which is notable considering Baez hits from the right side and Siani is a lefty.
Best Breaking Ball (tie) — Luinder Avila, RHP, Royals: Avila gave up three runs on two hits and three walks during his inning, but he also got five whiffs, including one to finish Zyhir Hope for Avila’s only strikeout of the evening. The breaking ball to finish Hope started about belt-high before taking a huge dive toward the dirt and coaxing a weak swing over the top. There’s little question about Avila’s stuff, but he’s going to have to overcome his command and control shortcomings to reach his ceiling.
