When can Tigers fans plausibly expect to see Zyhir Hope in the major leagues?

Tigers No. 1 prospect Zyhir Hope hit his first home run of the Arizona Fall League on Monday as a member of the Scottsdale Scorpions (off of a former Dodgers minor league teammate, no less). It was his sixth hit in his last four games.

Tigers fans are expecting big things from Hope, the highest-ranked prospect in the Tarik Skubal trade. He got off to a slow start upon arriving to Detroit but finished out the minor league season strong, hitting .333 with a monster 1.015 OPS in 42 September at-bats.

The AFL is widely known as a finishing school for top prospects. Josue Briceño was the league's first Triple Crown winner in 2024 and its MVP that year; Kevin McGonigle kept the Tigers' dominance rolling with a win of his own in 2025.

With a team like the Tigers, which has so many viable internal options for their future that offseason spending is expected to be limited, the next best thing fans have to look forward to is top prospects making their debuts. If Hope even gets close to touching the same excellence as Briceño or McGonigle, we're going to be asking when we'll see him in Detroit.

Tigers fans shouldn't get their hopes up for a Zyhir Hope call-up by Opening Day (but he's definitely on his way)

Before we get overexcited, there's very close to a 0% chance that Hope, who ended his season in Double-A makes the Opening Day roster in 2027. The Tigers under Scott Harris made an exception for McGonigle that paid off, but it may be decades before we see another player like that. Consider the over 20-year gap between McGonigle and Justin Verlander.

However, that doesn't mean we won't see Hope in the majors at some point in 2027. Once again breaking from their usual M.O., the Tigers called up Max Clark on the last day of July, just a few weeks before they could preserve his PPI eligibility in 2027, but it was kind of a Hail Mary. There was still lingering hope the Tigers would be able to thread the needle, but they were also gearing up to trade Skubal, rending their last two months all but a wash.

Hope will probably end up in the majors after the PPI window reopens in August 2027. Briceño and Max Anderson are far more likely to make the Opening Day roster, which would give the Tigers two Rookie of the Year-hopefuls, and then Hope could follow in 2028.

There's no reason to rush the kid, even if he looks like a monster in Toledo. Patience is a virtue.

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