Yeah. Contact is obviously a really valuable skillset and always will be. But it's also quickly becoming a rare skillset due to the increased quality of MLB pitchers.
Yeah. Would've liked to see better. But I won't give him too much heat for that Bryant HR. That ball had no business leaving the ballpark. Kept us in the game, at least.
The last few years he wasn't productive with the bat. Hiura at least hits the ball hard which is he's been productive at the plate this year despite a high# of Ks.
I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but they're pretty clear that harder hit balls will result in more hits and more runs over the course of a season than softer hit ones. That's significant when the goal is to score more runs than the opposition....