Drillers Lose Hope

Tulsa Drillers outfielder Zyhir Hope was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday in the deal that brought back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to LA. Hope was on pace for an historic season with the Drillers. (Tim Campbell)

By Tulsa Drillers

August 2, 2026

The Tulsa Drillers roster was affected with the blockbuster acquisition of pitcher Tarik Skubal by their parent club, the Los Angeles Dodgers. One of the three players sent to the Detroit Tigers in the trade was Drillers outfielder Zyhir Hope. Hope, who is ranked as the 25th-best prospect in all

Hope, who is ranked as the 25th-best prospect in all of Minor League Baseball by MLB Pipeline, had spent all year with the Drillers and was in the midst of his best professional season. In 94 games with the Drillers, the 21-year-old outfielder hit .293 with 23 home runs, 87 RBI and 18 stolen bases.

Hope saved his best for last, putting together what was likely Texas League Player of the Month stats in July. He hit safely in 19 of 23 games during the month with a .372 batting average, 10 homers and 28 RBI.

In his last game with Tulsa on Friday, July 31, he went 3-5 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI.

For the season, he was among the Texas League leaders in several statistical categories. He was sixth in the league in average (.293), fifth in homers (23), first in RBI (87), sixth in slugging percentage (.530), sixth in OPS (.899), third in hits (109), fourth in extra-base hits (41), third in total bases (197) and fifth in runs scored (68).

Hope was in position to have one of the top offensive seasons in Drillers franchise history. He was near certain to become just the fifth Drillers player to reach 100 runs batted in during a season and had a chance to top Joe Koshansky’s franchise record of 109 RBI.

With over a month remaining in the season, Hope also had an opportunity to approach Tulsa’s season record of 33 home runs held by Tim Wheeler.

The trade was widely reported on Saturday night after Hope was a late scratch from Tulsa’s starting lineup for its game with Northwest Arkansas, and it became official on Sunday morning.

With Hope, the Drillers were unofficially carrying six outfielders on their squad. When he was officially removed from the roster on Sunday, his spot was filled by pitcher Roque Gutierrez who had been on the temporarily inactive list.

Hope is expected to report to the Tigers Double-A affiliate in Erie Pennsylvania.