Sad Day for this Brewer fan

[eddiemathews]

It shouldn't bother me that Keston Hiura signed with Detroit. There really was no place for him on this roster. But I had such high hopes for him, and it almost feels like the Brewers let him down instead of the other way around.

Hope you break out big-time for the Tiggers, Kestdaddy!

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'm always going to pull for Hiura, wishing him the best!

Doubtful he breaks camp with the Tigers, but hoping he hits his way back into the majors at some point this season.

Maybe now the free agent logjam will finally break loose and chapman/bellinger find a dotted line to sign on!

[Frisbee Slider]

In a strange way, does Hiura have an obvious path, barring injuries, of getting meaningful at bats in Detroit this season?

[TURBO]

1 minute ago, Frisbee Slider said:

In a strange way, does Hiura have an obvious path, barring injuries, of getting meaningful at bats in Detroit this season?

From what I read, it sure doesn't look like it.

[RobertCrawley]

The Brewers gave him every opportunity to deliver and then some. I wish him well.

[Frisbee Slider]

16 minutes ago, RobertCrawley said:

The Brewers gave him every opportunity to deliver and then some. I wish him well.

Sigh. 

And he mostly did deliver in 2022 with .866 OPS against RHP (138 AB).

[TURBO]

55 minutes ago, RobertCrawley said:

The Brewers gave him every opportunity to deliver and then some. 

That is debatable...  (and has been debated to no end on this board, so I won't bother)

[AdvantageSchneider]

1 hour ago, Frisbee Slider said:

In a strange way, does Hiura have an obvious path, barring injuries, of getting meaningful at bats in Detroit this season?

It probably depends on whether the TIgers think he can play second base.  Looking at their depth chart at second the Tigers have a top 100 prospect that only has 300 at bats at AAA, Andy Ibanez, a 31 year old journeyman(who did have a decent year last year) and Zack McKinstry.  That would seem to be Keston's best shot at playing time.  Assuming he can a) field at second base and b) hit major league pitching.

If he could have done both of those he'd still be a Brewer I guess.  So if you are predicting an outcome I'd think Matt Laporta and not Nelson Cruz.

[Outlander]

Looking at the Tigers depth chart not seeing a real good path to playing time. Bless them if they give him a shot at 2B but not seeing that happening.

[Brewcrew82]

35 minutes ago, AdvantageSchneider said:

It probably depends on whether the TIgers think he can play second base.  Looking at their depth chart at second the Tigers have a top 100 prospect that only has 300 at bats at AAA, Andy Ibanez, a 31 year old journeyman(who did have a decent year last year) and Zack McKinstry.  That would seem to be Keston's best shot at playing time.  Assuming he can a) field at second base and b) hit major league pitching.

If he could have done both of those he'd still be a Brewer I guess.  So if you are predicting an outcome I'd think Matt Laporta and not Nelson Cruz.

Colt Keith is locked into 2B for them with the extension. Torkelson is already locked into 1B. And then Carpenter and Canha at DH. 

I would say there’s virtually no room available for him in DET barring injury.

[StearnsFTW]

Never liked the pick.  He had me fooled in 2019 though.  

 

Seems like a good dude though so I wish him the best.

[Fear The Chorizo]

If he hits, he will get a shot at some point - even if it's a different team trading minor league fodder for him if the Tigers don't have a spot for him.

[Jopal78]

9 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

If he hits, he will get a shot at some point - even if it's a different team trading minor league fodder for him if the Tigers don't have a spot for him.

I would say this is “his shot”. He was DFA’d and nobody wanted him, the Brewers couldn’t unload him at the deadline in ‘23 for anything, he couldn’t get a major league guarantee for ‘24, and had to wait until ST started to sign a minor league deal, where a rebuilding club is hoping to buck the odds and catch lightning in a bottle 

[Fear The Chorizo]

9 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

I would say this is “his shot”. He was DFA’d and nobody wanted him, the Brewers couldn’t unload him at the deadline in ‘23 for anything, he couldn’t get a major league guarantee for ‘24, and had to wait until ST started to sign a minor league deal, where a rebuilding club is hoping to buck the odds and catch lightning in a bottle 

I'd add to that he could sign and play overseas for a few years, too...Ala Eric Thames, and then wind up back in mlb that route, too.

 

He's got a slider speed bat, so I'd think he'd have a ton of success playing in Japan or Korea where velocity isn't constantly mkd to upper 90s.

[sveumrules]

Tigers fans are going on a decade of sad days now, last making the postseason in 2014.

Since then they have one winning season (86-76 in 2016), and their 579-722 overall record is dead last in MLB.

Torkelson has -14 DRS and -8 OAA so far in his brief career at 1B, playing Hiura (-16 DRS and -12 OAA career at 2B) next to him would be brutal.

Throw in that Detroit 3B posted an MLB worst -22 DRS and -18 OAA last year and that’d be an almost 2007 Brewers level disregard for infield defense.

[Platoon Power]

57 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

Tigers fans are going on a decade of sad days now, last making the postseason in 2014.

Since then they have one winning season (86-76 in 2016), and their 579-722 overall record is dead last in MLB.

Torkelson has -14 DRS and -8 OAA so far in his brief career at 1B, playing Hiura (-16 DRS and -12 OAA career at 2B) next to him would be brutal.

Throw in that Detroit 3B posted an MLB worst -22 DRS and -18 OAA last year and that’d be an almost 2007 Brewers level disregard for infield defense.

Sounds like the plot for a movie where the owner is trying to finish dead last so she can move the team to Miami.

[Ro Mueller]

If Keston can produce offensively like his ZIPS projection suggests, then there’s definitely a place for him in that lineup:

- Hiura +4.3 Off
- Carpenter +2.4 Off
- Badoo +0.4 Off
- Ibanez -3.1 Off
- Vierling -4.4 Off
- McKinstry -6.0 Off

Wishing Hiura a terrific spring and season.

[Brock Beauchamp]

11 hours ago, Frisbee Slider said:

In a strange way, does Hiura have an obvious path, barring injuries, of getting meaningful at bats in Detroit this season?

I’m not totally up to speed on the Tigers roster but their offense is… not good. If there’s a place he could find playing time, it’s probably Detroit. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

7 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Tigers fans are going on a decade of sad days now, last making the postseason in 2014.

Since then they have one winning season (86-76 in 2016), and their 579-722 overall record is dead last in MLB.

Torkelson has -14 DRS and -8 OAA so far in his brief career at 1B, playing Hiura (-16 DRS and -12 OAA career at 2B) next to him would be brutal.

Throw in that Detroit 3B posted an MLB worst -22 DRS and -18 OAA last year and that’d be an almost 2007 Brewers level disregard for infield defense.

Some of that is due to the final years of Mike Ilitch. He knew he was dying and so badly wanted a championship. He went hard at short term results and mired the Tigers in loads of bad contracts and a barren farm system.

And frankly, good on him for doing it. He bet the house and lost but at least he took his shot. 

[rickh150]

Ah…..yeah. Hiura got paid MLB money to hit well in AAA while we failed to do much of anything at his positions of DH or 1B until mid August or so. And they tried umpteen people to the point of embarrassment. 
And my hope is that if/when he hits, he is given regular at bats in a regular batting spot, in a regular position, and that he is not yanked around to death.
The Brewers belief in him to give him contract of 2 mil plus one month and the total lack of belief in him the next is one of the craziest things I have seen in baseball….and it should go as a warning to the rest of players in that you could hit unbelievably well in the minors during the year, have underperforming players at positions above you at next level you could still have zero hope of promotion, regardless of team paying you MLB contract to seemingly play MLB baseball.

[rickh150]

On 2/17/2024 at 10:24 AM, RobertCrawley said:

The Brewers gave him every opportunity to deliver and then some. I wish him well.

You mean Winker, right? You cannot mean Hiura. “Every opportunity” you wrote in the English language, correct?

[rickh150]

That Winker postseason AB….after six weeks of not seeing MLB pitching. And not even being on the team! And the season he had on top of it. And the Boooooos…for Counsell.

[Brewcrew82]

2 minutes ago, rickh150 said:

You mean Winker, right? You cannot mean Hiura. “Every opportunity” you wrote in the English language, correct?

Hiura averaged more PAs/season with the Brewers than Winker did in his sole season....

[Brewcrew82]

8 minutes ago, rickh150 said:

Ah…..yeah. Hiura got paid MLB money to hit well in AAA while we failed to do much of anything at his positions of DH or 1B until mid August or so. And they tried umpteen people to the point of embarrassment. 
And my hope is that if/when he hits, he is given regular at bats in a regular batting spot, in a regular position, and that he is not yanked around to death.
The Brewers belief in him to give him contract of 2 mil plus one month and the total lack of belief in him the next is one of the craziest things I have seen in baseball….and it should go as a warning to the rest of players in that you could hit unbelievably well in the minors during the year, have underperforming players at positions above you at next level you could still have zero hope of promotion, regardless of team paying you MLB contract to seemingly play MLB baseball.

I have a feeling we'll win a WS one of these years and the only two things you'll care to talk about about are 1) the Hader trade and 2) Hiura.

[rickh150]

1 minute ago, Brewcrew82 said:

I have a feeling we'll win a WS one of these years and the only two things you'll care to talk about about are 1) the Hader trade and 2) Hiura.

Oh, I’ll celebrate that….. come now.
And I should be upset for Hiura and the batting lineup of Winker/Adames/Rowdy hitting #2-4 half the season and the almost 2 dozen players at DH not named Hiura who we would have liked to hit DH with Hiura’s 2022 numbers.