Zyhir Hope is one of the youngest and least experienced players participating in the Arizona Fall League. Acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the January deal that sent Michael Busch to the Chicago Cubs, the 19-year-old outfielder has just 315 professional plate appearances, in part because he missed three months this season with a shoulder injury. The raw tools are impressive. Since being selected in the 11th round of last year’s draft out of Stafford, Virginia’s Colonial Forge High School, Hope has slashed .289/.419/.492 with a dozen home runs and a 143 wRC+. How he would define himself as a hitter is a question he wasn’t quite sure how to answer when I posed it to him on Wednesday. “I try my best,” responded Hope, who is suiting up for the Glendale Desert Dogs. “I have amazing coaches and a lot of resources to kind of help me find myself, find my swing. I’m working every day, trying to stay consistent, trusting the process.” Asked if his setup and swing are essentially the same as when he signed, he said that they are. As for how much he studies the intricacies of his craft, let’s just say that Hope is a believer — at least to this point of his young career — in keeping things as simple as possible. “I don’t really think about that stuff, about mechanics,” explained Hope, who takes his cuts from the left side. “I just go out there and swing, to be honest. I love to just go out there and swing. It’s just feels, man. Just feels. I’ve been that way my whole life. See ball, hit ball.” Hope saw the ball well on Thursday, and it translated to some serious damage. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound prospect propelled a 470-foot home run through the hot Arizona air as part of a two-hit effort. The blast, which soared over the batter’s eye in center field, had an exit velocity of 111 mph. Hope told me that he has “baseball in his blood,” and that is but one of his enviable attributes. The athletically-gifted teenager has plus wheels, a strong arm — some teams were reportedly interested in him as a pitcher — and an ability to handle same-sided pitchers. As evidenced by the moonshot, he also has impressive pop.
RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
- Alan Trammell went 11 for 23 against Al Nipper.
- Nippy Jones went 11 for 16 against Bill Werle.
- Nap Lajoie went 6 for 6 against George Cuppy.
- Luke Scott went 5 for 5 against Dustin Nippert.
- Rabbit Nill went 2 for 24 against Rube Waddell.
NEWS NOTES
Sean Lahman has agreed to donate the Lahman Baseball Database to SABR. The announcement can be found here. Bob Speake, an outfielder/first baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants from 1955-1959, died on October 3 at age 94. The Springfield, Missouri native logged 154 of his 170 hits, and 28 of his 31 home runs, with Chicago’s North Side club. Speake’s nickname was Spook.
The answer to the quiz is Steve Rogers, who had 158 wins with the Expos from 1973-1985, and Dennis Martinez, who had 100 wins with the Expos from 1986-1993.
Should-be Hall of Famer Luis Tiant died earlier this week at age 83. Here are six Tiant facts:
- He hit five home runs, all of them with the Cleveland Indians. The first two were off of Jim Bouton, one at Yankee Stadium, the other at Cleveland Stadium.
- He had 15 career saves, including eight with the Indians in 1966.
- He went 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA in four postseason starts with the Boston Red Sox in 1975.
- The last of his 229 career wins came with the California Angels, a 10-2 victory over the Red Sox in 1982.
- When Denny McLain was a unanimous AL Cy Young Award winner in 1968, the Detroit Tigers right-hander went 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA and 7.2 WAR. Tiant went 21-9 with a 1.60 ERA and 7.4 WAR.
- Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter threw 3,449.1 innings and went 224-166 with a 104 ERA+ and 37.2 WAR. Tiant threw 3,486.1 innings and went 22-9 with a 114 ERA+ and 54.8 WAR.
Like many present-day pitchers, Matt Bowman has a sweeper in his arsenal. The analytically-inclined right-hander shared an interesting take on the offering when I spoke to him in the final month of the regular season.
“Anyone who throws one will tell you that it’s a good pitch,” said Bowman, who was pitching out of the Baltimore bullpen at the time. “But I think it’s maybe losing a little bit of its luster. With the orientation of the ball and the…”
