Article: The Rise and Fall of Keston Hiura

[Bryce Naughton]

No recent Brewers player has polarized fans more than the embattled Keston Hiura.

Image courtesy of © Katie Stratman, Katie Stratman / USA TODAY NETWORK

High School Dominance
Keston Hiura displayed power from a young age, evident during his time at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita. In his senior season, he hit .500 with 14 home runs and 30 RBIs in 28 games, leading his team to victory in the "Foothill League." Despite this standout performance, he went undrafted and chose to play college baseball at UC Irvine.

College Struggles to College Dominance
In 2015, Hiura joined UC Irvine and showcased his power by hitting .330 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs in 56 games. However, he struggled with strikeouts with 41 to 17 walks, proving to be a challenge.

His strikeout difficulties persisted in 2016, but he improved his walk rate and batting average. He hit .358 with seven home runs and 41 RBIs across 53 games. Despite his improvements, his team's season ended disappointingly at 31-25.

By 2017, Hiura's performance had gained attention. He maintained strong contact with the ball, achieving a .442 batting average and doubling his walks 50 times in 56 games. His on-base percentage reached .567, hitting a career-high eight home runs, though his team's season record was 23-33.

Draft Day
Considered a promising prospect, Hiura's skills earned him the 22nd spot in the MLB.com rankings, with a hitting grade of 60 and a power rating of 50. Despite concerns about potentially needing Tommy John surgery, the Milwaukee Brewers surprisingly drafted him 9th overall. They signed him for a substantial $4 million bonus, contingent on potential elbow surgery.

Professional Debut
On June 24, 2017, Hiura made his pro debut with the AZL Brewers. He impressed fans by going 2-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. His success continued with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 15 games, averaging .436. He moved up to Single-A, where he struggled, hitting .333 with 13 strikeouts in 27 games, highlighting a need for improved plate discipline.

First Full Minor League Season
In the 2018 Minor League Season, Hiura's potential showed as he hit 13 home runs and achieved 43 RBIs in 123 games. However, he also struck out 103 times, with a rate of around 20%. His batting average settled at .293. Despite these struggles, optimism persisted for his development.

Top 10 Prospect + 2019 Struggles
As the 2019 season began, Hiura's reputation grew. In Triple-A, he hit .333 with 11 home runs and 26 RBIs in 37 games before his MLB debut. Although he performed well initially, with five home runs, 9 RBIs, and a .281 average in 17 games, strikeouts plagued him. These challenges and Travis Shaw's return led to his Triple-A demotion. He returned with impressive stats, hitting eight home runs, 20 RBIs, and .321 in 20 games. His 2019 season ended with the Brewers, hitting .303 with 19 home runs and 49 RBIs in 84 games. But they fell short of the postseason, losing 4-3 to the Nationals, who went on to win the World Series!

2020 Covid Season
The Covid-impacted 2020 season proved difficult for Hiura. Leading MLB in strikeouts with 85 in 59 games, he struggled with a .212 average and poor fielding. Despite his struggles, he played the full season and in the postseason, performing below expectations again.

Struggles in 2021
In 2021, Hiura's struggles continued as he moved between MLB and MiLB due to ongoing strikeouts. He hit .168 with 77 strikeouts in 61 MLB games and a strikeout percentage of 39.1%. His performance in Triple-A mirrored his difficulties, marking a sharp decline from his promising 2019 season.

2022 Season
The 2022 season saw Hiura struggle and improve intermittently. After early struggles with the Brewers, he moved between Triple-A and MLB. A positive stretch included hitting .247 with six home runs and 12 RBIs in 28 games. Despite improvement, his strikeout rate rose to a career-high, and his season ended with 14 home runs, 32 RBIs, and a 41.7% strikeout rate.

2023 and Beyond
Despite his strong Triple-A performance in 2023, Hiura faced challenges returning to the majors due to injuries and a lack of confidence. Brewer's GM Matt Arnold expressed support for his potential, but his MLB future remains uncertain. Keston Hiura's journey showcases his potential and struggles, leaving open the possibility for a turnaround if given the right opportunity.

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[Trax]

Lots of decisions for this team in the off season and he will be one of them.

[Jopal78]

There’s a factual error—the Brewers did not miss the post-season in 2019. They were a wild card team under the old format and were eliminated in their post season game against Washington. 
 

Secondly, despite any polarity amongst fans I don’t think anyone would say Hiura struggled in 2019, that was the year he was awesome. 
 

Finally, how can an article about the “rise and fall” of a player omit that he was designated for assignment, removed from the 40 man roster and outrighted to AAA?

#clickbait. I should’ve known better, shame on me. 

[brewers888]

If the Brewers prefer anyone and everyone over Hiura they should have just released him and let him catch on with another major league team or even one in Japan or Korea. Letting him rot in AAA while putting up good numbers is just cruel and completely unneccessary. Its obvious that the team doesn't have any plans for him so do the guy a favor and let him continue his career elsewhere. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

They have no plans for him now regarding the ML roster. But what's happened in 2023 neither proves nor disproves that they have no plans, period.

He may be someone who has value (although when others had a chance to claim him, none did) but moving forward, doesn't fit the offensive profile they're transitioning to. Putting up a productive year in AAA may have reclaimed some of that value.

It wouldn't shock me if he was on their roster next year. Or if he was dealt. But you don't just release a potential asset when some of that value might, potentially, be recouped. There are franchises that can afford to do that. Not this one.

[Jopal78]

1 hour ago, brewers888 said:

If the Brewers prefer anyone and everyone over Hiura they should have just released him and let him catch on with another major league team or even one in Japan or Korea. Letting him rot in AAA while putting up good numbers is just cruel and completely unneccessary. Its obvious that the team doesn't have any plans for him so do the guy a favor and let him continue his career elsewhere. 

They let Brosseau go to Japan after he was DFA’d and outrighted to AAA. 

Do you honestly think there’s been interest from ANY other team in organized baseball and  Hiura’s still in AAA for Milwaukee because of some form of cruelty by the Club? I don’t buy it for a second. 
 

(Hell, I’d buy that Japan wanted Hiura and Keston didn’t want to go so the Brewers refused to release him, before some form of cruelty or ignorance on behalf of the Brewers)

[brewers888]

45 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

They let Brosseau go to Japan after he was DFA’d and outrighted to AAA. 

Do you honestly think there’s been interest from ANY other team in organized baseball and  Hiura’s still in AAA for Milwaukee because of some form of cruelty by the Club? I don’t buy it for a second. 
 

(Hell, I’d buy that Japan wanted Hiura and Keston didn’t want to go so the Brewers refused to release him, before some form of cruelty or ignorance on behalf of the Brewers)

At a major league minimum salary there would definitely be interest in Keston. Cheap teams like Oakland and Kansas City weren’t willing to take on his lofty by their standards contract but surely would take him at league minimum unless you think there isn’t a worse player in the major leagues.

The money is paid out by the Brewers and they have passed him over each and every time so do the guy a favor and let him continue his career elsewhere. Personally I think the team has screwed up big time not giving him a chance on a team that can’t hit but they just hate this player for whatever reason so do the right thing by the guy and let him go.

[Jopal78]

33 minutes ago, brewers888 said:

At a major league minimum salary there would definitely be interest in Keston. Cheap teams like Oakland and Kansas City weren’t willing to take on his lofty by their standards contract but surely would take him at league minimum unless you think there isn’t a worse player in the major leagues.

The money is paid out by the Brewers and they have passed him over each and every time so do the guy a favor and let him continue his career elsewhere. Personally I think the team has screwed up big time not giving him a chance on a team that can’t hit but they just hate this player for whatever reason so do the right thing by the guy and let him go.

That response evades the question: do you honestly believe there’s been interest from another club and the Brewers have continued to hang on to him as some sort of cruelty or ignorance? 
 

Even the skin flint Oakland A’s you referenced signed then ate the contracts of Jesus Aguilar (3 million) and Shintaro Fujinami (3.2 million), so the argument that Hiura’s contract (2.2 million) is too rich for the blood of other teams has credibility issues. 

I think the simplest explanation is reality no team  wants/wanted Hiura and the Brewers (a class organization)  are letting him stay in game shape in AAA should an opportunity for him arise.  

 

[brewers888]

4 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

That response evades the question: do you honestly believe there’s been interest from another club and the Brewers have counties to hang on to him as some sort of cruelty or ignorance? 
 

Even the skin flint Oakland A’s you referenced signed then ate the contracts of Jesus Aguilar (3 million) and Shintaro Fujinami (3.2 million), so the argument that Hiura’s contract (2.2 million) is too rich for the blood of other teams has credibility issues. 

I think the simplest explanation is reality no team  wants/wanted Hiura and the Brewers (a class organization)  are letting him stay in game shape in AAA should an opportunity for him arise.  

 

I think the Brewers look at it as the money is already spent might as well keep him in case there is literally no one else to call up. If you think Hiura is literally worse than every player in the majors and no one would want him at the major league level for the minimum I would say I strongly disagree.

 

The Brewers had many chances to give Keston a shot but chose to watch Winker flop and give just about anyone a chance but Keston. At least Hiura is getting paid 2 million and I wish him well with his next team who will hopefully treat him better than we have.

 

 

[Jopal78]

1 minute ago, brewers888 said:

I think the Brewers look at it as the money is already spent might as well keep him in case there is literally no one else to call up. If you think Hiura is literally worse than every player in the majors and no one would want him at the major league level for the minimum I would say I strongly disagree.

 

The Brewers had many chances to give Keston a shot but chose to watch Winker flop and give just about anyone a chance but Keston. At least Hiura is getting paid 2 million and I wish him well with his next team who will hopefully treat him better than we have.

 

 

Nobody knows what the other FOs in baseball think of Hiura, but I think it’s safe to assume the answer is ‘not much’.  Hiura doesn’t play MLB caliber defense, he doesn’t hit lefties, he struggles to make consistent contact against MLB pitching and he’s out of options. 

I’m sure the Brewers decision to move on from a guy who they controlled for multiple seasons yet, and used Top 10 draft pick on, was not one they took lightly. After all Hiura got 1000 PAs on teams that were all in a playoff chase, something I know wouldn’t have happened in New York, Houston, LAD etc.

It would be interesting to learn why they didn’t just release him when he cleared waivers after the DFA which would have nipped all this in the Bud, but we’ll probably never know. 

 

[Team Canada]

So are we just going to rehash the entire Hiura thread in here now? :)

[rickh150]

Low bar…great year….and they paid him… and DH in NL… stubborn….mismanagement of DH position….move on… win division…positive vibes.

[Frisbee Slider]

10 hours ago, Team Canada said:

So are we just going to rehash the entire Hiura thread in here now? :)

Next article: The Rise and Fall of Keston Hiura Threads, starting from when he was drafted to present day

[rickh150]

Rise and Fall? So unfair.

More like he had one of the team’s best OPS/
OPS+ in 2022 and inexcusably gets no opportunity in 2023 while having better numbers than anyone in the organization.
Fall? More like suppressed down, kept down, and squashed. Yet let’s pay him $2.2 million to play at AAA.
And the DH position? Worst in baseball.

[TURBO]

21 hours ago, Team Canada said:

So are we just going to rehash the entire Hiura thread in here now? :)

Sure looks like it.  Just another fluff article with no real substance to take up bandwidth.

If anyone is expecting the comments to be any different than the 20 page thread with the same topic, it isn't going to happen. 

[Chourio4040]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:39 PM, Jopal78 said:

There’s a factual error—the Brewers did not miss the post-season in 2019. They were a wild card team under the old format and were eliminated in their post season game against Washington. 
 

Secondly, despite any polarity amongst fans I don’t think anyone would say Hiura struggled in 2019, that was the year he was awesome. 
 

Finally, how can an article about the “rise and fall” of a player omit that he was designated for assignment, removed from the 40 man roster and outrighted to AAA?

#clickbait. I should’ve known better, shame on me. 

Yeah, there are other areas in there where it says he "struggled," with a .333 BA and 13Ks in 27 games or whatever.

There were no struggles until 2020.

 

[Team Canada]

Welcome to Brewer Fanatic!

[bigred]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:39 PM, Jopal78 said:

There’s a factual error—the Brewers did not miss the post-season in 2019. They were a wild card team under the old format and were eliminated in their post season game against Washington. 
 

Secondly, despite any polarity amongst fans I don’t think anyone would say Hiura struggled in 2019, that was the year he was awesome. 
 

Finally, how can an article about the “rise and fall” of a player omit that he was designated for assignment, removed from the 40 man roster and outrighted to AAA?

#clickbait. I should’ve known better, shame on me. 

Also, the writer said he struggled at single-A his first professional season. Imo, hitting. 333 while striking out once every other game is far from struggling. 

[rickh150]

6 HRs last 5 games….17 HRs…..887 OPS overal between two AAA teams

 

 

[wallus]

[rickh150]

And he is up again! Beating the Cubs! The Angels had him at 2B over the weekend….batting 2nd! Hitting 3-8 in two games. And his OPS still clearly higher than Adames. Hope he continues to get a chance to play. Always thought he got the shaft EVEN when he was hitting well.