With the upcoming series with the Chicago Cubs starting tomorrow, let’s look at the trade that brought Zyhir Hope to the Dodgers and Jackson Ferris. The Dodgers sent Yency Almonte and Michael Busch to the Cubs in exchange for Hope and Ferris. This was a trade for the future with the Dodgers. The Cubs have inherited their benefits more quickly as Busch has cemented himself as their everyday first baseman, and Almonte, before being injured, was on the big league roster. This trade, in my opinion, was a genius move by Andrew Friedman and company as they got two top ten prospects for Busch, who is an outstanding player, but with no spot on the Dodgers roster and Almonte who did not seem to factor into the teams plans moving forward for the left-handed pitcher Ferris and what could be a future superstar in Zyhir Hope.
Zyhir Hope was seen as a possible two-way player as he was a good position player but also had dabbled in pitching, and the hope was that he might become the next Dodger to be pulling double duty. The jury is still unsure whether that would happen, as the Dodgers seem happy to see him focus solely on the outfield. His added muscle since he has been in the organization shows that he may become a more polished Yasiel Puig-type player. The Dodgers wanted to draft him in the 2023 draft before Chicago took him, and now that they have him in the organization, the sky is the limit for the young kid. He is now at the single-A level and is not expected to join the big league roster until 2027, which is the latest prediction. He needs more development in the batter’s box as he must cut down on strikeouts while harnessing his power to make more solid contact at the plate. So far, the results have been promising. As of this writing, he is hitting .339 with an OPS of 1.087 and four homers. He has struck out 17 times compared to taking 9 walks. As he progresses up the ladder and pitchers start adjusting more to him, he will need to hone his skills to adapt. If he can get more contact and bring the strikeouts down, while keeping his openness to taking walks when given the opportunity, it will only help him polish his game even more.
The big question will be how he handles moving up to Double-A, which should come at some point this season, and the fact that he is still only 20 years old leads to great optimism that he will be the next superstar the Dodgers bring to the majors. With a top-notch minor league development team, there should be excitement for the bright future in the minors right now to go along with the championship aspirations each year at the major league level. I am going to look to see him play in person once he arrives in Tulsa and just from watching him in spring training and already holding his own and showing confidence in the batters box at such a young age can even lead to the speculation that while he is not a fast as Puig was in his prime the power potential can be greater which is saying something.
Prospect watches will most likely be something that I try to do a little bit here at LADR, as there is so much more to the organization than just what is seen at the major league level, and it’s okay to be excited for the future when the present has been so good. If you have not seen Hope play yet, try to check him out on MILB.tv. While he is at Great Lakes at the moment, he will be rising sooner rather than later, and everyone should have the chance to see just how exceptional his talent is, and he should only improve as he ages and gets more playing time to hone his craft. Until next time, keep bleeding blue.
Clay Gregory
Growing up and living in Oklahoma I fell in love with the game of baseball from an early age from playing T ball through High School. I have always had an admiration for the Boys in Blue with how the Dodger Way is the right way to play the game. Tommy Lasorda is my favorite manager of all time and my all-time favorite players are Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax, Pedro Guerrero, Mike Piazza and Clayton Kershaw. I am enamored with Dodgers history from the Brooklyn days when they were Dem Bums to the days of Fernandomania to Mannywood and beyond. Vin Scully will always be the best announcer the game has ever seen and it will always be time for Dodger baseball. I am married to the love of my life Melissa who gave me the inspiration to actually take on this crazy idea of writing about the Dodgers and without her support I would not be able to do what I love. My cousin Zach Chase and uncle John Chase for being a Dodger encyclopedia and sharing their knowledge with me. I will bring my perspective and love for the team to readers and I will most likely have spelling errors from time to time but I promise ill do my best on it. I want to bring you a unique perspective on your favorite team and also throw some humor along the way. I love to talk about baseball with anybody who will listen and I look forward to the Dodgers going back-to-back in their quest for another World Series Championship. Dodger Blue through and through.
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