Here's how Tigers prospects have fared at Arizona Fall League

The swing from Zyhir Hope last week looked smooth and easy, a quick reaction to a 95.3 mph fastball on the outside corner. The ball kept carrying as Hope watched it fly and took off for first.

By the time it landed, it had cleared the fence in left for an opposite-field home run, Hope’s first homer of this Arizona Fall League campaign. And the Tigers’ top prospect had his latest snapshot of the raw power that has Tigers officials eagerly anticipating the slugging outfielder’s rise up the system toward hopefully an arrival in Detroit at some point next season.

This is not Hope’s first trip to the AFL; he was still a teenager when the Dodgers sent him in 2024 to make up for at-bats lost during a two-plus-month stint on the injured list. He has already drawn as many walks this time around (eight) in less than half the plate appearances. He hasn’t quite flashed the same power, possibly a product of a long Minor League season that included a midseason trade from the Dodgers in the Tarik Skubal deal and a postseason run at Double-A Erie that now has him well over 600 plate appearances for the year.

Hope, No. 26 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect list, entered Thursday batting 8-for-35 (.229) with the home run as his lone extra-base hit. He has 11 strikeouts along with the eight walks, good for a .400 OBP and .714 OPS.

Other Tigers prospects toiling in the desert:
• SS Bryce Rainer (Tigers’ No. 2 prospect, MLB No. 44): The consolation over Rainer’s slow start was an improvement in contact. Then the 2024 first-round pick struck out nine times over a three-game span, during which he went 1-for-12. In fairness, three strikeouts came against Reds prospect Luke Holman, who has been dominant this fall after returning from Tommy John surgery this season. Still, the stretch reinforces the struggle with swing-and-miss this season at High-A West Michigan, where Rainer batted .271 with 18 home runs and an .863 OPS but struck out 151 times in 429 plate appearances.

• INF John Peck (Tigers’ No. 19 prospect); Peck is the rare AFL prospect with MLB experience, having played in 24 games for Detroit after an end-of-August callup. That experience makes his 2-for-31 stretch in the AFL surprising. He has split his time between shortstop and third base. Some of those outs have been tough luck, including balls hit at 110.2 and 109 mph, according to Statcast. Defensively, Peck has been solid, including a slick double play turned Wednesday.

• RHP Logan Berrier: The 25-year-old reliever, an undrafted free-agent signing in 2025 after playing collegiately at Longwood and Maryland, has struck out three batters in each of his three outings, good for nine strikeouts over four innings of one-run ball. It’s an eye-opening stretch from a pitcher who hasn’t averaged more than a strikeout per inning since rookie ball. His 86-88 mph cutter has been particularly effective, accounting for all three of his strikeouts over 1 1/3 innings in his most recent outing Monday. He also has a 93-95 mph sinker while mixing in a mid-80s slider.

• RHP Preston Howey: The High-A West Michigan reliever, a 14th-round pick from the 2024 Draft, has tossed 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts. His four-seam fastball sat at 95 mph and topped out over 96 in his latest outing Wednesday, including a 95.5 mph heater to strike out Rockies No. 10 prospect Jared Thomas.

• RHP Jalen Evans: The Detroit area native and West Michigan reliever, signed out of Indy ball last January, has allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits over 3 1/3 innings with a walk and three strikeouts. He has a power arsenal led by a 96-98 mph four-seam fastball and sinker, complemented by a low-spin diving slider, but has made an improvement on his command after walking 26 batters over 48 2/3 innings at West Michigan this year.

• RHP Maddox Long: A big 6-foot-5, 275-pounder signed out of Indy ball at midseason, Long tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win for Scottsdale last Saturday. He has allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits over 7 2/3 innings with two walks and six strikeouts so far this AFL season. He has a 92-95 mph fastball to go with a sinker, cutter and sharp high-spin slider.

• LHP Win Scott: Another former independent player signed out of the Atlantic League, Scott has allowed 10 runs (five earned) on nine hits and six walks while striking out two over 4 1/3 innings across three outings.