MESA, Ariz. - Zyhir Hope is back at Sloan Park, and the scene feels familiar right away. He walks across the field with his bat bag, pauses to sign a few autographs, then heads to the dugout and settles onto the bench. The smile is there, too, just like it usually is.
This is his second Arizona Fall League stint at the park, but the setting comes with a different look this time. Hope spent the 2024 Fall League season here as a 19-year-old. Now he’s back in a Tigers uniform after being dealt from the Dodgers to Detroit with River Ryan and Brady Smith in the Tarik Skubal trade.
It’s another organizational move in a career that has already required plenty of adjustment. The Cubs picked Hope in the 11th round of the 2023 draft, then sent him to the Dodgers six months into his pro career. Now with his third organization, the Virginia native has settled into the routine of adapting without losing himself.
“It’s been amazing with Detroit,” Hope said. “Everything has been very smooth. I have no complaints at all.”
Hope opened the 2026 regular season at Double-A Tulsa with a simple focus: trust himself and keep learning. That mindset gave him room to grow without getting pulled off course by the change around him. Instead of treating the new organization as a distraction, he kept pushing toward becoming a more complete player.
The production followed. Between Tulsa and Double-A Erie, Hope set single-season career highs in hits, runs, home runs, and RBIs. He also came close to his first 30/30 season, finishing with 29 home runs and 26 stolen bases.
A National League scout described him this way: “He’s an old soul,” a National League scout said. “He’s always impressed me. The raw tools pop, but there’s a lot to be said about his mental game too.”
That blend of tools and temperament showed up once he got to Erie. First-year Double-A manager Tony Cappuccilli had already seen Hope plenty from the other dugout in the Midwest League, and the view from his own bench only reinforced the impression.
“The maturity is super impressive,” Cappuccilli said. “He’s an incredibly humble guy, and just loves playing baseball. You can see it by the way he is around his teammates and in the dugout.
“His tools are off the charts. We got to see it last year from the other dugout and how much he impacts the game in every way.
Seeing it from our dugout this year when he came over was just as impressive. The pole-to-pole power, the base running, and arm strength all showed up as we had seen in the past.”
Hope’s return to the Fall League gives him another chance to keep building on that base. Scouts see the power and athleticism immediately, but they also point to the ongoing work that comes with a young player still learning how to get the most out of his body.
“[Hope has] big bat speed, big power potential and is a solid defender in the outfield,” a National League scout said. “Having a mature body gives some pause for any upside, but the bat has a chance to erase any doubts.”
At 5-foot-10 and 193 pounds, Hope’s frame is part of the conversation, and scouts say conditioning and nutrition will matter as he continues to develop. Even so, the offensive projection remains clear.
“Zyhir, for me, is an everyday corner guy with both hit and power, quality at-bats and solid defense,” an American League scout said. “I think the performance will be more consistent as he matures with nutrition and conditioning, maximizing his athleticism.
There will be some maintenance, but he’s athletic, and it’s not going to affect his profile for me. If/when he hits, nobody will talk about the body.”
His first run with Erie didn’t start smoothly. Hope managed just three hits in his first 10 games with the SeaWolves, but the slow opening didn’t last. As the season moved on, his bat heated up, and people around the Eastern League started to notice.
He finished the final five games of August with four multi-hit performances, then carried that momentum into the stretch run. Hope ended his Erie season on a 15-game hitting streak before getting the call back to the Fall League.
That run capped a season that kept pushing his stock forward. It also showed the kind of day-to-day steadiness that can matter just as much as the loud tools.
“We saw him have good stretches and some where he struggled, and he was the same guy every day,” Cappuccilli said. “He was the same guy every day. Just came in, got his work done, played hard, and did it again the next day.
“I think the maturity and consistency in his day-to-day approach to the game is something that’s going to carry him in this game for a long time.”
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