The Milwaukee Brewers have called up their top prospect,second baseman Keston Hiura from Triple-A San Antonio, the team announced Tuesday. Hiura, 22, is ranked as the No. 15 overall prospect in baseball by MLB.com. The Brewers drafted Hiura as the ninth overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft.
#Brewers calling up second baseman Keston Hiura, sources tell The Athletic.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) May 14, 2019
Hiura will likely replace third baseman Travis Shaw in the Brewers' lineup. Entering Tuesday, Shaw is hitting .163/.266/.281 (46 OPS+). The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports that Shaw is likely heading to the injured list with a wrist issue.
#Brewers’ Shaw indeed has a wrist issue, per sources. Move to injured list appears likely, clearing spot on 25-man roster for Hiura.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 14, 2019
More on #Brewers’ need for Hiura’s right-handed bat: Braun has missed three straight starts with left hamstring injury. Aguilar no HRs in 38 plate appearances in May after three in two games at end of April. Cain was batting .246 with .682 OPS before five-hit game last night.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 14, 2019
Hiura is hitting .333/.408/.698 with 11 home runs over 37 games at Triple-A, and last season, he hit .293/.357/.464 between High-A and Double-A. Once Hiura joins the team, Mike Moustakas will likely see more time at third base while Hiura takes over at second.
After losing three straight, Milwaukee (24-19) sits two-and-a-half games out of first place in the NL Central and the team has been struggling offensively away from Miller Park. They'll continue a three game series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday -- the game can be streamed regionally via fuboTV (Try for free).
Fantasy impact
CBSSports.com fantasy editor Chris Towers views Hiura as a "very valuable" option. Hiura should hit for average, power and even steal some bases as a rookie. From Towers:
Hiura has enjoyed an incredible start to the 2019 season, with 11 homers in just 37 games — two shy of his career high. That may look like a small-sample fluke, but Hiura was always projected to hit for more power as he developed, so this isn't terribly surprising to prospect hounds. And, perhaps most importantly, his power spike has matched a league-wide spike at Triple-A, coinciding with the usage of the same ball MLB uses — one that is flying out of parks at unprecedented levels.
Hiura can just flat out hit, and a .280-.290 average isn't asking too much even as a rookie. He'll swipe a few bags, too, and it's not out of the question to think he's more of a 20-homer guy already, with the potential for 25-plus down the line. Anthony Rendon is a lofty comp, but that's probably what the best-case scenario looks like down the line.
And a Miguel Andujar-esque impact as a rookie is well within the realm of possibility, even if something like Cesar Hernandez might be more reasonable. That's still a very valuable Fantasy option, and one who should be added in all leagues.
