Rolling with Hiura

[adambr2]

It's just that Nottingham at his best probably isn't even going to be an upgrade from Hiura even if Hiura is struggling. Neither is Vogelbach.

 

Only way I can see Hiura going down to work on things is if Braun were to return.

 

It's not worth sending Hiura down to work on things unless there is a markedly better replacement to Hiura's floor. Keston is still sitting on a 113 career OPS+ despite the struggles.

[Sixtofan]

Even without a clearly better option. They may send Hiura down to work on his mechanics without the pressure of being in mlb games. In the long run - probably worth it.

[FVBrewerFan]

Even without a clearly better option. They may send Hiura down to work on his mechanics without the pressure of being in mlb games. In the long run - probably worth it.

 

Exactly. If Hiura needs to go down, he needs to go down. Expecting his temporary replacement to put up better numbers is not the goal. The goal is to have an improved Hiura for the 2nd half of this season and beyond.

[adambr2]

Even without a clearly better option. They may send Hiura down to work on his mechanics without the pressure of being in mlb games. In the long run - probably worth it.

 

Exactly. If Hiura needs to go down, he needs to go down. Expecting his temporary replacement to put up better numbers is not the goal. The goal is to have an improved Hiura for the 2nd half of this season and beyond.

 

Guess I'm not really seeing how playing every day in AAA is going to result in an improved Hiura any more than playing every day in MLB will. He has a major league hitting coach here to work with him and access to every possible resource to improve.

 

He was OPSing like 1.100 in AAA his last season there. He needs to learn how to hit MLB pitching, not AAA pitching.

[FVBrewerFan]

You may be right. I'll trust them to make that call over what any of us think. I'm just commenting on what to do IF they send him down.

 

There are lors of reasons to do so. Simply a reset, a change of scenery can make a difference. Or working on someone specifically, like his leg raise, where he starts his hands, whatever may be better done away from MLB.

 

It's not about handling AAA pitching or not. It's about making adjustments, and AAA may or may not be a better place for that than MLB.

[HiAndTight]

Even without a clearly better option. They may send Hiura down to work on his mechanics without the pressure of being in mlb games. In the long run - probably worth it.

 

Exactly. If Hiura needs to go down, he needs to go down. Expecting his temporary replacement to put up better numbers is not the goal. The goal is to have an improved Hiura for the 2nd half of this season and beyond.

 

Guess I'm not really seeing how playing every day in AAA is going to result in an improved Hiura any more than playing every day in MLB will. He has a major league hitting coach here to work with him and access to every possible resource to improve.

 

He was OPSing like 1.100 in AAA his last season there. He needs to learn how to hit MLB pitching, not AAA pitching.

 

When you're swinging through 88 and 90 MPH fastballs, the issue may just be mechanical. In AAA you can toy with those mechanics and use trial and error a bit more than you can in the big leagues.

[JohnBriggs12]

It'll be interesting to see if a guy like Zach Green can get off to a hot start at AAA and offer another option at first base.

[yoshii8]

It's so early, I'd like to give him more time. Especially since Wong is on the DL. I bet he's going to start hitting.

[sheetskout]

Even without a clearly better option. They may send Hiura down to work on his mechanics without the pressure of being in mlb games. In the long run - probably worth it.

 

Exactly. If Hiura needs to go down, he needs to go down. Expecting his temporary replacement to put up better numbers is not the goal. The goal is to have an improved Hiura for the 2nd half of this season and beyond.

 

Guess I'm not really seeing how playing every day in AAA is going to result in an improved Hiura any more than playing every day in MLB will. He has a major league hitting coach here to work with him and access to every possible resource to improve.

 

He was OPSing like 1.100 in AAA his last season there. He needs to learn how to hit MLB pitching, not AAA pitching.

 

I know he's a pitcher - but look how Burnes rebounded once he got sent down. You're not acknowledging the fact that seding someone down might reset their motivation, and allow them to work in an environment with less-pressure.

[adambr2]

Burnes just isn't really a comparable situation to Hiura. He spent a ton of an offseason in their pitching lab and he basically completely reinvented himself as a pitcher from a 4 seam guy to a cutter guy.

 

I'm open to the concept of Hiura figuring some things out in AAA. I just don't think that's really what happened with Burnes.

[Daubs]

Burnes just isn't really a comparable situation to Hiura. He spent a ton of an offseason in their pitching lab and he basically completely reinvented himself as a pitcher from a 4 seam guy to a cutter guy.

 

I'm open to the concept of Hiura figuring some things out in AAA. I just don't think that's really what happened with Burnes.

 

Burnes saw a sports psychologist to work on the mental side as well.....

[adambr2]

Burnes just isn't really a comparable situation to Hiura. He spent a ton of an offseason in their pitching lab and he basically completely reinvented himself as a pitcher from a 4 seam guy to a cutter guy.

 

I'm open to the concept of Hiura figuring some things out in AAA. I just don't think that's really what happened with Burnes.

 

Burnes saw a sports psychologist to work on the mental side as well.....

 

I still remember starting a thread here circa 2006 questioning if Derrick Turnbow needed to do exactly that.

[Jopal78]

You have to figure with Vogelbach and McKinney’s bats showing life and Wong due back this weekend, Hiura may begin to lose playing time. 42% strike out rate and just two hits in the last ten games.

[rickh150]

Hiura had some success toward the end of spring training. To me, that gives him some more rope to play daily and try to get on track.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

The Nashville Sounds kick off their 2021 season in less than two weeks, on Tuesday, May 4, at Toledo. At this point, I would be very surprised if Keston Hiura isn't in their opening day lineup, and starting at 1B.

[pacopete4]

If it is one thing that the Brewers don't do is give up on players quickly as fans do. They will give him time to right the ship and get out of it and rightfully so. They're winning games, beating good teams, and having success as not only not allowing runs but also scoring runs.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Is anyone actually saying give up on Hiura? I know I'm not. I am saying that right now, he can't hit MLB pitching, and just trotting him out there to figure it out (I realize the lack of current alternatives) isn't working.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

If it is one thing that the Brewers don't do is give up on players quickly as fans do. They will give him time to right the ship and get out of it and rightfully so. They're winning games, beating good teams, and having success as not only not allowing runs but also scoring runs.

 

Sending him to AAA is far from giving up on him, though. He needs to figure some stuff out in a situation that isn't expressly impacting the MLB team. I can live with a higher than average K rate, but last night, Hiura looked like he was swinging with his eyes closed. He's 24 years old, and he's a big part of this team's future. I'm all for giving him the opportunity to right the ship, but he was utterly terrible for 60 games last season, and he looks exactly the same this year. Once the AAA team gets going, he needs to be there, and play every day in a less pressure-packed environment. Once he figures out how to strike the ball again, and not chase every neck-high fastball a pitcher throws him, I'd gladly welcome him back.

[pacopete4]

Picking at the phrasing I used is fine. The Brewers don't normally send guys down that quickly. Think Shaw two seasons ago. So many wanted to send him down after about two weeks and they rolled with him for over half of the season. I just don't believe they operate like many of our posters want them to. And I am good with that. Give him the at bats and continue to work with him. If it doesn't work in by the all-star break, then find a better option. Plenty of at bats to be had for the big mama jama Vogelbach and our new Yelich, McKinney.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Hiura is going to dip below .100 if he hasn't already, not sure exactly where he is. There's no way they're rolling with that until the ASG. His age and experience level make it perfectly acceptable to get him a couple weeks in the minors once that's an option. I would hope they are evaluating him on his own merits and not choosing to let him figure it out in the majors just because the team is winning a bit. Plenty of folks won't agree but I don't think that should be a factor in what kind of leash he has.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Picking at the phrasing I used is fine. The Brewers don't normally send guys down that quickly. Think Shaw two seasons ago. So many wanted to send him down after about two weeks and they rolled with him for over half of the season. I just don't believe they operate like many of our posters want them to. And I am good with that. Give him the at bats and continue to work with him. If it doesn't work in by the all-star break, then find a better option. Plenty of at bats to be had for the big mama jama Vogelbach and our new Yelich, McKinney.

 

I get it, and what you suggest is likely what they'll end up doing. But this situation is a little different in that Shaw was coming off a very good 2018 season before he completely lost it in 2019. Hiura, on the other hand, came up and made a positive impact in 2019, but then followed it up with a pretty terrible abbreviated 2020 season, and has looked even worse than that in 2021. I'm more than willing to give players who were bad in 2020 a mulligan due to the weird circumstances surrounding the whole season, but it gets a little harder to ignore as we get further into the 2021 season and a larger sample comes into play.

 

One thing the Brewers did do with Shaw in the first half of 2019, though, is essentially make him a part-time player. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Brewers go that route with Hiura once Wong is back, as they now know that both Vogelbach and McKinney can take reps at 1B, along with Shaw. They also have Zach Green in Appleton waiting around for his opportunity, too.

[JohnBriggs12]

Picking at the phrasing I used is fine. The Brewers don't normally send guys down that quickly. Think Shaw two seasons ago. So many wanted to send him down after about two weeks and they rolled with him for over half of the season. I just don't believe they operate like many of our posters want them to. And I am good with that. Give him the at bats and continue to work with him. If it doesn't work in by the all-star break, then find a better option. Plenty of at bats to be had for the big mama jama Vogelbach and our new Yelich, McKinney.

 

Shaw hadn't struggled the last two months of the previous season. Scooter Gennett was sent down in 2015 on May 17, but he had roughly the same amount AB's at the time that Hiura has now and hadn't struggled the previous year. The fact that there's nowhere for him to be sent is hurting him more than the team. This isn't just the last 60 PA. His slide started early in September. His OPS on September 5 was .806. He finished the year at .707. His body language is bad too.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I feel like "bad body language" always comes up magically when someone isn't playing well and isn't given a second thought when they are playing well. See Rodgers, Aaron.

[adambr2]

Hiura is going to dip below .100 if he hasn't already, not sure exactly where he is. There's no way they're rolling with that until the ASG. His age and experience level make it perfectly acceptable to get him a couple weeks in the minors once that's an option. I would hope they are evaluating him on his own merits and not choosing to let him figure it out in the majors just because the team is winning a bit. Plenty of folks won't agree but I don't think that should be a factor in what kind of leash he has.

 

Yeah I agree. You can't keep him up based on the fact that the team is winning anyway when the winning and Hiura's performance have nothing to do with each other.

 

Now obviously they still believe Hiura is a special talent and I'm sure they want to give him a chance to turn it around. I just think the time will come when he probably will be sent down to give him a chance to turn it around in AAA and face a lower pressure environment and see if he can figure some things out. I don't know when that will be, but if they wait til the AS break at this level of production I'd be shocked.

 

I want to look for any reason in his game logs to think that he's turning it around and I just don't see it. Even when he gets a hit he's just unable to continue to string it together and usually follows with an 0 for 4. Keston has struck out in over 43% of his PAs this year. For some perspective Keon Broxton has a career rate of 38.5%.

[Hopper]

Once the minor league teams get in full motion, I predict Hiura goes to AAA until he figures some things out.

It has to be done, for the good of the team, and himself.

He's a train wreck, an absolute train wreck.

Time to get fixed.