Zyhir Hope was the headlining piece of a three-player return for the Tigers in last week’s blockbuster trade that sent Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers.
And MLB’s No. 25 prospect lived up to that lofty status by smashing his first hit in Detroit's system for a home run in Double-A Erie’s 10-6 loss to Altoona on Thursday at UPMC Park.
Hope drove a two-run shot to left-center field in the sixth inning off right-hander Matt Ager (PIT No. 30).
The Tigers’ No. 2 prospect had plenty of adjusting to do after departing the Dodgers with packing and unpacking, plenty of travel and hitting in a new lineup.
“Everything's been going smoothly, man,” Hope said after the game. “Just playing ball, man. Enjoying every second, every moment of it.”
Hope found his groove offensively in an impressive Double-A Tulsa lineup chock full of high-end Dodgers prospects. He slashed .293/.369/.530 and slugged 23 homers in 94 games, rounding out his time in Tulsa with his best stretch of the year -- hitting .372 with 10 long balls and a 1.184 OPS in July.
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Already considered one of the sport’s best prospects, Hope garnered even more attention as the top-ranked prospect changing teams at the Trade Deadline. But the 21-year-old has tried to block that out and focus on his development with a new organization.
“I just look at it as a blessing, man,” Hope said. “It's an amazing opportunity I got right here. I'm always grateful. ... I'm excited just to go out there and play ball with this organization. ... It's just, ‘Let's continue to play ball and just enjoy every second of it, man.’”
Thursday’s game gave the SeaWolves a good look at their new teammate's game and vice versa, especially when Josue Briceño (DET No. 4/MLB No. 54) went back-to-back with Hope in the sixth.
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“This team right here is good,” Hope said. “The talent on this team is crazy. It’s fun. It's an amazing group of people. It's not even just the players, staff members, everybody. This whole area is just very welcoming.”
The Virginia native is looking forward to following his new parent club during its quest for a third consecutive playoff berth. Detroit sits in fourth place in the AL Central but just four games behind the White Sox for the division lead and one game away from the final AL Wild Card spot.
“It's most definitely exciting to watch,” Hope said. “See how everything goes.”