Ever closer to his MLB debut, Hope leads Tigers' group in Fall League
This browser does not support the video element.
Scott Harris was a man of his word.
At the Tigers’ 2025 end-of-season press conference, the club's president of baseball operations mentioned two 20-year-olds who dominated Double-A that season -- a pair everyone watching knew to be Kevin McGonigle and Max Clark -- would factor into their 2026 Major League plans. Sure enough, McGonigle is the AL Rookie of the Year favorite, and Clark looks capable of holding down Detroit’s center field for the near and possibly distant future.
In the 2026 version on Sept. 28, he was asked about Max Anderson, Josue Briceño and Zyhir Hope, three more top prospects with upper-level experience, and the message was much the same.
“I expect all three of those players to be in the big leagues next year,” Harris said. “They’ve got to earn it for sure. Just like a year ago, I sat here and said I expected Max and Kevin to impact this team in 2026. I feel similarly about those players. I expect them all to contribute to our team next year."
Hope, like McGonigle in ‘25, was setting up to take on the Arizona Fall League when that message came through. Hope, unlike McGonigle last autumn, is still finding his way in the Tigers system having come over from the Dodgers in the Tarik Skubal blockbuster at this year’s Trade Deadline. A little encouragement from the boss doesn’t hurt.
“It’s always motivation, man,” Hope said in the days before suiting up for Scottsdale. “But, for me, I'm going to continue to stay right here where I am. I'm not looking too far ahead. I'm not looking too far back.”
It was, of course, a little telling that the Tigers accepted Hope as the headlining prospect in a deal for their homegrown two-time Cy Young winner. Already traded before from the Cubs to the Dodgers six months after he was taken in the 11th round of the 2023 Draft, the outfielder has blossomed into MLB Pipeline's No. 26 overall prospect with plus power projection and enough speed to be a potential 20-20 threat as a right fielder. That’s a tempting talent to plug in alongside Clark in center and All-Star Riley Greene in left by the first half of last year, and in that way, it makes more sense that the Tigers’ early instructions to Hope were on the simple side.
“Just continue to play ball,” Hope said of what Detroit told him after the trade. “Be yourself always, no matter what, and just go out there, take a deep breath and go.”
The 21-year-old’s numbers with Double-A Tulsa (.293/.369/.530, 129 wRC+) and Erie (.269/.360/.462, 117 wRC+) were similar enough, when taking into account the different environs of the Texas and Eastern Leagues, to say Hope heeded that advice. In both places, he was at his best when he was lifting and pulling rockets thanks to good bat speed from the left side.
This trip to the Arizona Fall League will be another test, and perhaps a tougher one, considering Hope already had a career-high 564 plate appearances during the regular season. Fatigue could be a factor in a way it wasn’t when he first played in the desert in 2024 after dealing with a stress fracture in a rib. To his credit, Hope doesn’t seem to be handling this second go-round with more childlike wonder (in a positive sense) than someone with a real MLB shot might otherwise.
“For me, it's opportunity, man,” Hope said. “The man up above has plans for all of us. I'm out here just playing travel ball, having a good time playing travel ball.”
Tigers hitters in the Fall League
Bryce Rainer, SS (No. 2/MLB No. 44): The 2024 11th overall pick, who played only 35 games last season due to a dislocated right shoulder that needed surgery, has tools for days with his power, speed, arm strength and defense at shortstop all grading out at above-average or better. But his swing-and-miss issues from kinetic mechanics have been well-documented as he made contact on only 65 percent of his swings and ran a 35.2 percent strikeout rate on the season with High-A West Michigan in 2026. Despite that, he hit .271/.380/.483 with 18 homers in 95 games with the Whitecaps. Still only 21, Rainer has time to figure out the right balance of his K’s and pop, and finding that should be a focus with Scottsdale.
John Peck, SS (No. 19): Peck will be a rare Fall Leaguer with MLB experience, having debuted for Detroit on Aug. 31 and gotten in 24 games with the big club afterward. The 24-year-old retains his rookie eligibility heading into 2027, however, and a hamstring injury that kept him out for six weeks gives him a good excuse to get in more at-bats with the Scorpions. The Pepperdine product’s best skills have typically been on the defensive side, but he’ll have to do better against MLB-quality four-seamers (.218 xBA, 24.6 percent whiff) and changeups (.098 xBA, 50 percent whiff) to have a shot at an everyday role anywhere on the dirt for the Tigers.
Tigers pitchers in the Fall League
Logan Berrier, RHP: Berrier spent four years at Longwood University and one with Maryland before heading to the American Association with the Lake Country DockHounds in 2025. He lasted two appearances before the Tigers signed him that May. Now in his second season in the organization, he posted a 4.45 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 54⅔ innings for West Michigan this summer. Berrier can touch 96 mph while using a pair of fastballs (four-seam, sinker), and his mid-80s slider can be a menace to fellow righties out of his almost-sidearm release.
Jalen Evans, RHP: Evans made collegiate stops at Western Oklahoma State for JuCo ball and Texas Wesleyan in NAIA before playing in the Prospect League, American Association, Pioneer League and Frontier League. He finally signed with an affiliated club when the Tigers brought him in as a free agent in January, and the 28-year-old had a 6.10 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 48⅔ innings as a High-A reliever. Evans touched 98.3 mph with his four-seamer in his AFL debut on Monday and also showed off a sinker, changeup and slider with the low-80s breaking ball, getting two whiffs on two swings against it.
Preston Howey, RHP: After four years working out of the St. Mary’s bullpen, Howey joined the Tigers as a 14th-round pick in 2024, but he’s yet to crack above High-A with 52 appearances and 101⅔ innings combined for West Michigan over the past two years. After a late start due to a right hamstring strain, he never quite found consistency with the Whitecaps in 2026 with a 7.26 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 39⅔ innings, giving him a chance to end his age-24 season on a brighter note in the Fall League.
Maddox Long, RHP: The 6-foot-5 right-hander opened the season with the Washington WildThings in the Frontier League before the Tigers picked him up in June. He sported a 3.74 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP with 44 strikeouts in 33⅔ innings between the Florida Complex League, Single-A Lakeland and High-A West Michigan, and headed to his fifth team of '26 in Scottsdale. The 25-year-old uses a 82-85 mph high-spin slider as a primary pitch -- understandable since it had a 40 percent whiff rate in full-season ball -- and backs that up with a pair of low-90s fastballs, a cutter and a changeup.
Win Scott, LHP: The former NC State and San Jose State product began pro ball with the Atlantic League’s High Point Rockers in 2025 and 2026 before signing with Detroit on May 8. He climbed three levels from the Florida Complex League to West Michigan and finished 2026 as one of the best statistical relievers in the system. His 1.86 ERA across those stops was second-lowest among Tigers farmhands (min. 40 IP), while his 4.2 walk percentage over 48⅓ frames was lowest. Scott may only sit 91-93 mph on his four-seamer from a release point above 6 feet, but he sells the heck out of his mid-80s slider, low-80s changeup and upper-70s curveball to generate whiff and chase and keep the free passes low.