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He was proclaimed the purest university hitter in the MLB draft class 2017. He was called a striking scientist. He has been awarded as the most valuable player in the Arizona Autumn League. The consensus among all screening services is that he is one of the best hopes of baseball. And now, Keston Hiura is a great player.
Milwaukee Brewers Travis Shaw's third baseman has had a terrible depression throughout the season, and it was revealed today that he had a wrist problem that was important enough to deserve some attention. to be on the list of the wounded. This will return Mike Moustakas to his natural position in the tight corner, thus opening the player's keystone that some have described as the best hope of positioning Milwaukee's agricultural system since Ryan Braun. When Hiura is on the field tonight (7th at Cream City Nine), he will become the first player in his repechage category to make his MLB debut, completing a meteoric rise in the ranks of the minor league that has lasted every 202 games. over a period of one and a half years. So, what can we expect from the former 9th overall pick that has spent the last six weeks spoiling the pitch of the Pacific Coast League?
Offense
Hiura is not the most physically intimidating specimen, he is 5'11 "and weighs 190 lbs. But he has a specific trait that excites his new manager for his future:
"It's always the Holy Grail to hit, hitters who have very good timing. Keston owns it. That's probably the first thing I thought about when I saw Keston: this guy must have incredible timing.
Timing at the plate is extremely important for Hiura, who certainly has an unorthodox typing style compared to most batters of today's game. He uses two timing mechanisms, first pulling his foot back and forth to hit his weight on his back leg, then leaning on a kick kick to add extra torque to his momentum as he crosses the ball. The Baseball Scouts Prospectus referred to the "accuracy of Swiss pocket watches", which makes everything work at an extremely fast typing speed and a "remarkably advanced approach".
"I do not necessarily think my swing is for everyone. It's really different in a unique way where it's comfortable for my body. I have always been a great preacher, where every momentum is not unique. "
The scouts of the MLB Pipeline describe Hiura as being able to generate "always strong and strong contact, the ball passing from all lands" thanks to his "exceptional skills of the stick to the balloon and his conscience of the barrel". A "supernatural feeling of having an impact on baseball" helps to reach the levels of 60 and 70 of almost all scouts who watch it. In Hiura's game, there is a little more back-and-forth than what may have been initially anticipated at the time of the draft, and his confidence in the timing and aggressive typing style has led some scouts to Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs to suggest that he could be a rather strident player. . His exit rate of 27.2% is a little misleading after starting the year by bragging in 11 of his first 17 appearances at the plate, but you'll notice the punches as evidenced by an exchange rate of 20 , 7% in his minor league career. However, the compromise for additional extra strikes comes in the form of increased power projection, and Hiura now seems to be a good bet for the top 20 homers each year.
In 37 games this season at the top level of the miners, Hiura set the opponents on a cut line of 0.333 / 0.408 / 0.698, ranking 8th in all Triple-A batters with a score of 164 wRC +. His 11 circuits in 147 appearances at the plate also tied him to the 8th rank between the two Triple-A circuits. His walking rate also went up, as he managed a free pass in more than 10% of his appearances at the plate after walking only 6 to 7% of the balloon time and in doubles. In 869 appearances at the plate across all levels of the minor league, Hiura set up a batting line of .316 / .380 / .534. In simple terms, the man can hit.
The cap here is the type of star talent that makes all players dream – a 300-year-old hitter who crushes at least 25 homers per season while holding a leading defensive stance on the midfield. Maybe the swing-and-miss means his batting average is finally somewhere closer to .260's range. 270 against the best pitchers in the world at MLB level. But even if it reaches only the maximum of its three-year forecast for ZiPS, a slash of .268 / .328 / .456 would be well dangled by a second-baseman. He is not a burner on the basics, but Hiura might be able to count two-digit flight totals using his average speed in conjunction with his baspath awareness and intelligence.
Defense
Although Hiura's development at the plate has always been considered a pretty safe thing, it's his defense issues that drove him to slide towards Milwaukee in the 2017 project. Keston faced a problem at the elbow that limited him to DH duties during his last academic season at UC-Irvine, and there was a good chance that he needed a surgery from Tommy John to correct the disease. But the Brewers tried to heal him without going under the knife, and he responded well to an injection of PRP and the team's throwing program. From the beginning of his career, he was appeased at second base, playing only three field games in his first professional season in 2017, and then split the time between the keystone and the designated A-class hitter. Advanced to start 2018. He started playing second on almost every day during his promotion to Double-A last season and continued at Triple-A San Antonio this year. It seems that all the lingering concerns about the way his elbow is held have been appeased by this point in the mind of the front office.
Hiura's work at the second base has been described as "unspectacular" and he is considered a medium defender at the post. His decent actions and footwork help catch up on a lower-than-average arm, but he'll be exposed to longer jets from the bottom of the hole. If he can not stay in second place, the strength of his arm limits him to the first field or first goal as a backup option. But as long as he is at least a passable defender at second base, his batting profile at the center of the order is likely to largely offset the glove's shortcomings. Milwaukee's aggressive change strategy should also help Hiura in this regard.
Statistics provided by Fangraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Baseball-Reference
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