Zyhir Hope is already making a name for himself in the fall league. BA’s Josh Norris has video from yesterday, plus an impressive showing from Ethan Salas both behind the dish and at the plate.

Zyhir Hope, OF, Dodgers: Through his first four at-bats, Hope had no hits, but he’d made loud outs twice. In his fifth at-bat, with his team tied with Peoria in the top of the ninth, his contact made an impact.

Down two strikes against fireballing Padres righty David Morgan, he launched a hanging breaking ball over the wall in left-center field for go-ahead two-run home run the opposite way. It was the second home run of the Fall League for Hope, who missed a chunk of time this summer with an injury after coming over from the Cubs in the deal that sent Michael Busch to Chicago.

Though Hope’s second home run wasn’t as prodigious as his first, it continued to cement his reputation as one of the bigger up-arrow prospects not only in the Dodgers’ system, but in the sport as a whole. He’s 4-for-16 to open the Fall League, with three of the four knocks going for extra bases.

Ethan Salas, C, Padres: At just 18 years old, Salas is one of the game’s finest prospects. That’s true even after a down year in the Midwest League, where he hit .206/.288/.311 over 111 games. Despite that line, Salas still managed to smack 27 doubles, tied with Oakland masher Will Simpson for second on the circuit. He was up to the same tricks again on Monday, when his Peoria squad dueled with Glendale to open the second week of the Arizona Fall League.

The Javelinas lost the game, but Salas more than made his mark. He collected a pair of doubles in five trips to the plate, bringing his AFL total to four two-baggers in the early going. He used both fields as well, shooting one double to the left-center field gap and yanking the other down the line in right field.

Of course, Salas earned his prospect pedigree for more than what he does in the batter’s box. He also has shown plenty of defensive chops, especially for someone his age handling pitchers who are nearly all his senior. On Monday, he also reinforced how much of a weapon he has in his right arm by catching a pair of runners trying to steal. Both throws registered pop times of 1.87 seconds. Salas caught 28% attempted basestealers in the regular season. The box score will tell you that three Glendale runners successfully stole bags on Salas. That’s a fact, but it requires context. Two of those three came on a double steal where both runners’ jumps were big enough that there was no point in even attempting a throw, and the third came when the runner got a massive jump on a pitcher who was slow to the plate. Salas’ throw in that case was a touch late and to the wrong side of the bag.

Leonardo Bernal, C, Cardinals: Entering Monday’s play, Bernal was 0-for-6 in two games in the AFL. After a breakout day, he’s now 3-for-11. The switch-hitting Bernal collected hits a trio of singles from both sides of the plate in his team’s eventual win over Peoria. In the regular season, Bernal was one of 12 catchers 20 years old or younger to hit 10 or more home runs. Oddly enough, four of them are in the Fall League: Bernal, Moises Ballesteros (Cubs), Thayron Liranzo (Tigers) and Carter Jensen (Royals).

Diego Cartaya, C, Dodgers: Cartaya hasn’t had the smoothest ride over the last couple of seasons. The 23-year-old backstop has dealt with injuries and inconsistent performance on both sides of the ball and has seen his prospect stock fall as a result. On Monday, playing in the Dominican Winter League, he gave fans a reminder of what he can do. Catching and batting cleanup for La Guiara, Cartaya crushed his first home run of the season. The blast came in the eighth inning off of A’s farmhand Gabriel Yanez and helped his team pad its margin of victory.

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