Right-hander River Ryan, one of the central pieces in the Los Angeles Dodgers' trade package for Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, made his organizational debut Wednesday. Ryan hasn't pitched since June 17, landing on the injured list soon after with a hamstring injury. The right-hander looked good in his first start in the Detroit Tigers' organization, striking out two batters and allowing just two hits through two innings pitched with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.
Over the course of the season, Ryan's ERA sits at 4.23 with 45 strikeouts through 38.1 innings pitched. Prior to his June 17 start, during which he allowed eight runs in 4.1 innings, though, he had a 2.81 ERA through seven starts on the season. Ryan has MLB experience despite spending all of 2026 in the minors, as he made four starts with the Dodgers in 2024 and had a 1.33 ERA through 20.1 innings pitched.
Tommy John surgery kept him off of the mound in 2025, and he returned to game action in spring training this season. He ranks as the No. 66 prospect in MLB, and is sure to join the big league team at some point during this season or next. Alongside Ryan, the Tigers also received MLB No. 28 prospect Zyhir Hope and Brady Smith, who ranks as their No. 10 prospect.
Hope went to Double-A after the trade and got off to a slow start, but adjusted quickly to the Eastern League, he has a .826 OPS through 26 games, hitting five homers and driving in 21 runs while stealing six bases in nine attempts. Over the course of his 120 games this season, Hope has 28 homers and 108 RBIs, both of which crush his previous season highs. Since making the move to the Tigers' organization, Smith has a 2.84 ERA through 6.1 innings pitched, allowing just two runs while striking out five batters.
The Tigers will hope the three top prospects they acquired from the Dodgers continue developing as they look to make a postseason charge next year following their disappointing 2026 season.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
