Former Brewers top prospect Keston Hiura is heading to the Dodgers on a minor league deal, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The agreement includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training. The 29-year-old first baseman is represented by CAA Sports.
Hiura spent last season in the Rockies organization. He was up with the big-league club for a couple of weeks in June, but mostly spent the year at Triple-A. Hiura put together a solid season with Albuquerque. He hit .272 with 21 home runs across 100 games. Hiura went 3-for-18 in his brief stint in Colorado.
Milwaukee selected Hiura with the ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft. He immediately began obliterating minor league pitching and found himself atop the Brewers’ prospect ranks by the end of 2018.
Hiura didn’t break camp with the team in 2019, but earned his first callup in May. He put together a tremendous rookie season. Hiura posted a 139 wRC+ with 19 home runs in 84 games as a 22-year-old. He appeared to be a fixture in Milwaukee’s lineup for years to come.
Hiura’s profile at the plate began to show cracks in the shortened 2020 campaign. His already-high 30.7% strikeout rate jumped to 34.6%. He led the league in punchouts. Hiura still delivered prodigious power numbers (13 home runs, .410 SLG), but the swing-and-miss was becoming a problem.
The bottom dropped out in 2021. Hiura’s strikeout rate ballooned to 39.1%. He hit .168 while spending most of the season bouncing between Milwaukee and Triple-A Nashville. It was more of the same the following season. Hiura delivered a 115 wRC+ with 14 home runs over 80 games, but it came with an untenable 41.7% strikeout rate. He spent all of 2023 with the Sounds.
The Tigers, Angels, and Rockies have all taken fliers on Hiura in recent years. He’s performed well in the minors during the stretch, and really at all times in his career, but he hasn’t stuck as a big leaguer. Hiura has more than twice as many strikeouts (17) as hits (8) over the 18 MLB games he’s played the past two years.
The Dodgers will be Hiura’s latest stop. He’s likely a long shot to contribute in the majors given the depth of L.A.’s roster, but maybe the organization has an answer for his contact issues.
Photos courtesy of Rhona Wise and Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
