Keston Hiura has a .984 OPS in Nashville

[rickh150]

Keston 4-5 tonight. 
Winker has 3 hits in July.

Yeah, those responses by CC are sad and depressing. When a DH spot is  just sitting there on a silver platter for a guy who excelled at DH last year, and against righties, and is hitting lefties this year, with less strikeouts, in a month where he mashes MLB pitching (.973 OPS), I sit back in my chair and play Benny Hill music. Maybe Winker is a relative? Something personal? Hitting poor team. Low bar. Borderline crazy. 

[rickh150]

His bat is better than Adames, and Adames hits 3rd for us. And there is a DH spot. Benny Hill.

[tmwiese55]

Also, am I remembering correctly that Hiura has been playing all OF/DH in AAA?   If so, it sure seems logical he should be getting refreshed on 1B.   In MLB, he and Yeli can't play anywhere besides LF.   With Rowdy out a while being able to play some 1B at least provides some positional usage for him. 

[wiguy94]

15 minutes ago, tmwiese55 said:

Also, am I remembering correctly that Hiura has been playing all OF/DH in AAA?   If so, it sure seems logical he should be getting refreshed on 1B.   In MLB, he and Yeli can't play anywhere besides LF.   With Rowdy out a while being able to play some 1B at least provides some positional usage for him. 

He's been LF/1B/DH/2B this year. 14 G at 1B, 5 G at 2B, 23 G in LF, 9 at DH.

[Samurai Bucky]

1 hour ago, wiguy94 said:

He's been LF/1B/DH/2B this year. 14 G at 1B, 5 G at 2B, 23 G in LF, 9 at DH.

Ryan Braun version 2?

[Jopal78]

1 hour ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Ryan Braun version 2?

Braun played 19 out of 1500+ games in his career at 1B. Even in Covid Ball which turned out be his final year he was in the outfield more than he was at DH.

[rickh150]

2 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

He's been LF/1B/DH/2B this year. 14 G at 1B, 5 G at 2B, 23 G in LF, 9 at DH.

Good info. Thanks.

[Samurai Bucky]

59 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Braun played 19 out of 1500+ games in his career at 1B. Even in Covid Ball which turned out be his final year he was in the outfield more than he was at DH.

True, but he started at 3B when he entered the Majors.  He had hands of stone, so they moved him to the OF to allow him to be in the lineup.  I guess the similarity would be that Braun started at an infield position, but was moved to the OF because of his defensive liability on the infield.

[Portage Plumber]

On 7/19/2023 at 3:38 PM, Brewcrew82 said:

That's a fallacy. Among players with 150 innings at 1B this year, Miller is #1 in Fangraphs dWAR, #2 in UZR/150, top 10 in OAA, and top 12 in DRS. He's quite literally been among the best fielding first basemen in baseball. 

You have not watched him play.  He is terrible.  Stretches to soon and gets locked so he cant react to a non perfect throw.  Terrible at anything that bounces and has brick hands.

[Brewcrew82]

28 minutes ago, Portage Plumber said:

You have not watched him play.  He is terrible.  Stretches to soon and gets locked so he cant react to a non perfect throw.  Terrible at anything that bounces and has brick hands.

Yes I have. He's been fine defensively aside from a few missed scoops. And the stats back me up on that. 

[rickh150]

24 minutes ago, Portage Plumber said:

You have not watched him play.  He is terrible.  Stretches to soon and gets locked so he cant react to a non perfect throw.  Terrible at anything that bounces and has brick hands.

I’ve watched most games and haven’t seen this. He missed a few scoops, some crucial. But his range is good and it should be for a middle infielder. His stretch isn’t Cecil Cooper, but it does t jump out to me as odd or different.
If we are to complain about him, it should be with the bat comparatively to other fIrst basemen.

[DougJonesChangeUp]

Did Keston not gel with CC or Murphy? There’s got to be something else going on, to not give him a chance this year.

[JCREW]

4 minutes ago, DougJonesChangeUp said:

Did Keston not gel with CC or Murphy? There’s got to be something else going on, to not give him a chance this year.

Welp. 
He is in the lineup tonight in NASH. 
so that’s probably another day of him not replacing Winker. 

[Frisbee Slider]

Keston strikes me as a quiet personality. I can’t imagine him being disagreeable.

15 hours ago, DougJonesChangeUp said:

Did Keston not gel with CC or Murphy?

 

[ClosetBrewerFan]

Keston is even crushing LH in AAA (1062 OPS).  Its time to give him another shot

[Fear The Chorizo]

19 hours ago, DougJonesChangeUp said:

Did Keston not gel with CC or Murphy? There’s got to be something else going on, to not give him a chance this year.

I think it's more to do with CC's management style and crummy timing with his development. Hiura had options while other veteran hitters on the 40 man didn't, so he was always the first man sent back to Nashville to maintain roster "flexibility" and not allowed an extended leash to work his way out of struggles at the MLB level that most highly regarded hitting prospects deserve. So, Hiura has instead slogged through the previous 4 seasons without a defined role in this organization.  

He's a poor defender and the team seems intent on spending 8-9 million a year for average at best veteran DHs instead of going into a season with Hiura as that option at a much lower cost (or spending a bit more to get a better option at what i think should be a key roster spot for this organization), so unless those guys are permanently released midseason he can't be brought up and actually get extended everyday ABs.

IMO the Covid year really screwed Hiura up and came at the worst time for his MLB development, which also included a series of position changes to try and fit his bat into the lineup...there wasn't a minor league season going on to send him down in 2020 to work on things when he struggled, and there was no option for video in the clubhouse or extended work/practice due to pandemic angst.  

[duewizard]

I hope that CC playing Winker as the clean-up man is his way of giving Winker one last chance. He either starts producing as a clean-up hitter or he is out by the deadline. I would like to think that if Winker continues to fail then Hiura will finally get the call.

Probably very unlikely but I like to think that.

[sveumrules]

3 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

I think it's more to do with CC's management style and crummy timing with his development. Hiura had options while other veteran hitters on the 40 man didn't, so he was always the first man sent back to Nashville to maintain roster "flexibility" and not allowed an extended leash to work his way out of struggles at the MLB level that most highly regarded hitting prospects deserve. So, Hiura has instead slogged through the previous 4 seasons without a defined role in this organization.  

He had a defined role until he stopped hitting.

From his call up on 6/28/19 through the end of the season he had the 3rd most PA on the team and posted a 143 wRC+. Sure, the 30.1% K rate and .412 BABIP were red flags as to the sustainability of that production, but he did plenty to earn an everyday role.

In 2020 Keston had the 2nd most PA on the team, only one fewer than Yelich. But the Ks ballooned to 34.6% and the BABIP cratered to .273 so the wRC+ was an underwhelming 88. But yeah, it was the pandemic. Write it off and start anew. 

For the first month of 2021 Hiura had the 4th most PA on the team. But his 36.0 K rate and .239 BABIP and 43 wRC+ weren't cutting it so he got demoted. Called back up, he got the 7th most PA from 5/24 until 6/6, but his 48.5 K rate and .154 BABIP and -36 wRC+ weren't going to keep him up and getting regular PAs so he got demoted again.

It's been up and down ever since with the volatility of Keston's batting line combined with his near zero defensive value preventing him from having a defined role.

[torts]

 

Kestdaddy daddy not impressed 

[Fear The Chorizo]

On 7/21/2023 at 2:25 PM, sveumrules said:

He had a defined role until he stopped hitting.

From his call up on 6/28/19 through the end of the season he had the 3rd most PA on the team and posted a 143 wRC+. Sure, the 30.1% K rate and .412 BABIP were red flags as to the sustainability of that production, but he did plenty to earn an everyday role.

In 2020 Keston had the 2nd most PA on the team, only one fewer than Yelich. But the Ks ballooned to 34.6% and the BABIP cratered to .273 so the wRC+ was an underwhelming 88. But yeah, it was the pandemic. Write it off and start anew. 

For the first month of 2021 Hiura had the 4th most PA on the team. But his 36.0 K rate and .239 BABIP and 43 wRC+ weren't cutting it so he got demoted. Called back up, he got the 7th most PA from 5/24 until 6/6, but his 48.5 K rate and .154 BABIP and -36 wRC+ weren't going to keep him up and getting regular PAs so he got demoted again.

It's been up and down ever since with the volatility of Keston's batting line combined with his near zero defensive value preventing him from having a defined role.

Agreed that if Hiura had hit better in 2021 he would have stayed up...those position changes for 2020 and 2021 seasons probably didn't help hiura settle in and just focus on hitting either, plus his mother was going through alot of health problems during that time that were weighing on him.  

The really frustrating part for me is the Brewers could have saved themselves about $16 M in payroll (or used it to improve other parts of their roster) and likely gotten better offensive production from the DH spot, a position where defensive value means zilch, had they just handed it to Hiura and put him in the 6 or 7 spot in the lineup in 2022 and to open 2023 instead of signing McCutcheon or taking a shot with Winker post surgery.  

[Brewcrew82]

15 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

Agreed that if Hiura had hit better in 2021 he would have stayed up...those position changes for 2020 and 2021 seasons probably didn't help hiura settle in and just focus on hitting either, plus his mother was going through alot of health problems during that time that were weighing on him.  

The really frustrating part for me is the Brewers could have saved themselves about $16 M in payroll (or used it to improve other parts of their roster) and likely gotten better offensive production from the DH spot, a position where defensive value means zilch, had they just handed it to Hiura and put him in the 6 or 7 spot in the lineup in 2022 and to open 2023 instead of signing McCutcheon or taking a shot with Winker post surgery.  

Why would the Brewers have handed the DH job to Hiura in 2022 instead of signing McCutchen after his horrific 2020 and 2021 seasons? 

[rickh150]

3 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Why would the Brewers have handed the DH job to Hiura in 2022 instead of signing McCutchen after his horrific 2020 and 2021 seasons? 

No reason to… agreed. But he did more than enough to get DH at bats throughout the year, especially late, especially against right handed batters. Stupid and stubborn.

[rickh150]

I expect Hiura up tomorrow. 

[DHonks]

It's totally illogical that we haven't called up Hiura.  He was our 2nd or 3rd best hitter last year and would dramatically improve the lineup.  The only thing I can come up with is we're leaving him in AAA (and off the 40-man roster) until the trade deadline, hoping he can be a piece of acquiring something else for our big league club.  In that case, I'd fully expect him up on August 1st if he's not party of a trade.  

[trwi7]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:23 PM, torts said:

 

Kestdaddy daddy not impressed 

You're gathering a lot of info from less than a half a second of video.