Veteran second baseman, Keston Hiura, has been tearing the cover off the ball over the last two weeks. Since joining Triple-A Salt Lake on June 11th, Hiura is slashing .397/.465/.937 with 11 home runs. That’s one home run for every 5.7 at-bats with the Los Angeles farm system.
2017 First Round Pick Has Power Surge In Angels Farm System
Another Kestdaddy dinger!
5 in 3 games.
10 in 15 games.@Angels‘ Keston Hiura continues to rake for the @SaltLakeBees. pic.twitter.com/VTYxmIyEpZ— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 30, 2024
Hiura was picked up earlier in the month by the Angels to add some infield depth. Luis Rengifo and Brandon Drury have been splitting time at second base this season. The Angels line up could use a jolt. Drury has been dreadful this season, hitting one home run in 112 at-bats. If Hiura can bring just an ounce of the power he’s shown over the last week to Los Angeles, it will be an upgrade.
Where Did The 2017 First Rounder Come From?
In 2017, Keston Hiura was drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Brewers. The second baseman out of UC Irvine batted over .330 in each of his three seasons as an Anteater and had a promising career ahead of him. He progressed through the minors quickly, batting for average and power. Hiura debuted with the Brewers in 2019, playing in 84 games, all at second base. Hiura slugged 19 home runs and batted .303 in his rookie season.
Good luck to Keston Hiura in Detroit! Here’s my favorite memory of him in Milwaukee…
July 27, 2019: Christian Yelich ties it with a homer in the 10th off Craig Kimbrel and Keston Hiura walks it off (featuring Theo Epstein not knowing what to do) pic.twitter.com/brpCt0qYGr
— The Brew Crew Scoop (@BrewCrewScoop) February 17, 2024
After a solid rookie season, things began to go downhill for the first-round pick. All of Hiura’s offensive numbers started to drop, and his strikeouts skyrocketed. In the shortened 2020 season, Hiura led the National League in strikeouts. Hiura has always had a high strikeout rate, but his average and power numbers were way down at this point.
At the end of the 2023 season, Hiura elected free agency. Keston was signed to a minor league contract by the Detroit Tigers at the beginning of 2024. Hiura had a strong Spring with the Tigers, slugging two home runs and working his average back up to .323 over 18 games. This was good enough for the Tigers to add Hiura to Triple-A Toledo as their everyday second baseman. His time in Toledo was short-lived. Due to roster moves and the Tigers making Spencer Torkelson a priority, Hiura was released.
One Last Shot for the First-Round Pick
This may be the last shot that Hiura has at making it back to the big leagues. He is seven years removed from the first round he was drafted in. Keston is absolutely destroying the ball right now. The Angels have nothing to lose by calling up the slugger immediately. Pitchers are throwing beach balls to him, and the Angels need to strike while the iron is hot.
Main Photo Credits: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
