Switch-hitting catcher Eliezer Alfonzo raked in Venezuela. Can he help Detroit Tigers in future?

Detroit Tigers switch-hitting catcher Eliezer Vicente Alfonzo, the son of former MLB catcher Eliezer Jesus Alfonzo, traveled back to his home country and competed in the Venezuelan Winter League to begin his offseason.

Alfonzo, who turned 24 in late September, played in 21 games for Leones del Caracas, from Oct. 22-Nov. 21. He hit .377 with one home run, 10 walks and four strikeouts across 73 plate appearances in Venezuela, posting a .472 on-base percentage.

It was his first season in the Venezuelan Winter League.

"Winter ball is usually the player's choice," Tigers vice president of player development Ryan Garko said, "and we supported him going to play because he missed a lot of the 2022 season. We wanted him to get more at-bats. The pitching down there is probably above the High-A level that he's been, so we were supportive of him going down and getting some of those at-bats."

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Alfonzo was slated to become a minor-league free agent at the beginning of the offseason, but before that happened, he re-signed with the Tigers on a minor-league contract. The deal includes a non-roster invitation to MLB spring training.

He is expected to report to Double-A Erie at the beginning of the 2024 season.

Injuries limited Alfonzo to 21 games in 2022, but he responded with a fully healthy season in 2023. He played a total of 121 games: 100 in the United States, for High-A West Michigan (94) and Double-A Erie (two in the regular season, plus four in the postseason), and then 21 in Venezuela, for Leones del Caracas.

"Pitchers love throwing to him, so that is the No. 1 thing that always stands out about Eliezer," Garko said. "Some of the guys who went on rehab assignments made comments about how well he prepares, and that he gives a good target and receives well."

He was promoted from West Michigan to Erie in mid-September because Julio E. Rodriguez — the SeaWolves' primary catcher following prospect Dillon Dingler's promotion to Triple-A Toledo — suffered an injury in the final month of the season.

Alfonzo worked as the catcher in all six games he played with the SeaWolves, including those four playoff games. He was behind the plate for four straight wins as Erie swept its way to winning the Eastern League title, including shutouts Sept. 19 against Richmond and Sept. 26 against Binghamton.

In the shutouts, left-hander Brant Hurter tossed a combined 13 scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts.

The final collaboration between Alfonzo and Hurter was a 10-0 victory on Sept. 26 to win the Eastern League championship. SeaWolves manager Gabe Alvarez credited Alfonzo.

"He had two Double-A games under his belt and caught four straight wins in the playoffs and just called a tremendous game," Alvarez told MiLB.com. "His dedication to learning the pitchers in such a short time and going over the scouting reports and sticking to the game planning, he's the reason we won."

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Before playing in Venezuela, Alfonzo hit .265 with 14 doubles, nine home runs, 29 walks and 28 strikeouts across 96 regular-season games with the Whitecaps and SeaWolves.

He registered a .326 OBP.

Alfonzo has more walks (129) than strikeouts (127) in his minor-league career. His career spans six seasons, 370 games and 1,487 plate appearances.

"At the plate, he does control the strike zone and he limits some of the swing and miss," Garko said. "He is a switch-hitting catcher that can stay behind the plate, makes contact and controls the zone. We really value the things he does and the way he handles the pitching staff."

On defense, Alfonzo worked 710 innings behind the plate for West Michigan and Erie, throwing out 12 of 90 runners on the bases for a 13% caught-stealing rate. He caught 149⅔ innings in the Venezuelan Winter League and threw out three of 12 runners for a 25% caught-stealing rate.

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While Alfonzo re-signed with the Tigers, three fellow catchers in the organization — Rodriguez (Double-A), Mario Feliciano (Double-A) and Michael Papierski (Triple-A) — became minor-league free agents at the beginning of the offseason and did not re-sign.

There is an opportunity for Alfonzo to establish himself as the No. 1 catcher in Double-A Erie in 2024.

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in mid-February.

"He has to come to spring training and earn everything, but we envision him, hopefully, being ready to go back to Erie," Garko said. "I think we're going to have some pretty good pitching there for him to work with, and offensively, always things to work on, but he's definitely put himself in the mix of catchers in our system that we think will have an impact hopefully one day in Detroit."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers catching prospect Eliezer Alfonzo rakes in Venezuela