Tigers Prospect Update: Cris Rodriguez promotion, Clayton Campbell, Zyhir Hope heats up

Tigers prospects have been busy making headlines all month, and the past week has been no different, starting with the No. 13 prospect in the organization, Cris Rodriguez, earning a promotion from Rookie ball to Single-A Lakeland this week.

Rodriguez is an intriguing prospect who was signed in January 2025 as an international prospect out of the Dominican Summer League; he was a top-five MLB Pipeline international prospect.

Scott Harris decided to splurge a little on a top international prospect and it’s looking like a genius move so far. After hitting .274 with nine home runs and 30 RBI in just under 50 games of Rookie ball, Rodriguez got the call-up this week to Lakeland and immediately smacked his first home run. He’s played just one game for Lakeland and is 1-for-5 with a homer and two RBI, though he did strike out three times in his debut. Still a lot of work to do, but he’s an incredibly promising prospect.

The proof is in the swing.

Earlier in July, Rodriguez hit the longest recorded home run in the organization’s history during the Statcast era at 479 feet. That would break JD Martinez’s Comerica Park record of 479 feet and Riley Greene’s career-best 471 feet. And he’s just 18 years old.

Clayton Campbell goes yard after Double-A call-up

Speaking of international prospects, Clayton Campbell was signed by the Tigers as an 18-year-old out of New Zealand back in 2021 and he struggled a bit early on in his minor league career.

It took Campbell a minute to get adjusted, hitting .149 in 37 games of Rookie ball in 2022 and then struggled again in 2024 and 2025, hitting around .200 in that timeframe between Rookie ball and Single-A Lakeland. This seems to be his year, however.

Campbell hit .257 with nine home runs and 51 RBI in 89 games at High-A West Michigan before earning the call-up to Double-A Erie this week. And he hasn’t disappointed.

In his first 12 at-bats, he has six hits with his first homer and RBI coming in only his second game He’s only struck out two times after averaging a strikeout in every three at-bats in High-A.

Campbell has clearly been working on his swing this year.

Zyhir Hope is starting to heat up

Zyhir Hope’s struggles to begin his Double-A Erie career were well-documented, as he started just 2-for-35 with a home run and three RBIs. He also had a 34% strikeout rate, stole just one base on two attempts, and he walked five times in nine games. People were starting to panic.

The top-30 prospect in baseball is now making those people look silly.

After that horrendous start, Hope is 8-for-26 with two home runs and seven RBI. His strikeout rate is still too high at around 35%, but he’s at least making contact now, too. He’s been a little more patient with five walks in seven games, and he just had a three-steal game on Aug. 23.

In Erie’s game on Aug. 25, Hope launched a missile over the center field wall, 405 feet from home plate, and he made it look routine. It’s safe to say he’s looking comfortable.

Now on the season, he’s hitting .275 with 26 homers, 97 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases. His 97 RBI put him in sixth place in all of minor league baseball. All this panic, for what?

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