As position players get set to report to spring training all around baseball, former Milwaukee Brewers top prospect Keston Hiura has earned an opportunity with the Detroit Tigers.
Per Tigers' reporter Evan Petzold on social media:
Source: Keston Hiura, who signed a minor-league contract with the #Tigers, will earn $2 million (plus incentives) if in MLB.
Hiura was let go by the Brewers at the outset of the offseason, which was a disappointing end to his tenure in the organization. He was at one point ranked the No. 20 overall prospect in baseball (2019) by MLB.com.
He appeared in games each year for the Brewers from 2019-2022 before being outrighted off the 40-man roster for 2023.
Unfortunately, he regressed nearly every year of his big league tenure. He came up in 2019, playing in 84 games and popping 19 home runs. In the COVID 2020 season, he hit 13 home runs in 59 games. Then in 2021, his offense cratered: He hit four home runs in 61 games and struggled to a .168 batting average. In 2022, he played in 80 games and hit 14 homers, but still batted just .226.
The strikeout has always been a major problem for Hiura. He led baseball in strikeouts during the COVID year, fanning 85 times in just the 60-game season.
He had a very productive year in the minors last year, playing in 88 total minor league games. He batted .311 with 23 homers and 79 RBI. He still struck out 91 times in 88 games but he did post a .397 on-base percentage, so maybe he has started to unlock something that can help him in Detroit.
With the Tigers, he'll be competing with Javier Baez, Andy Ibanez, Colt Keith, Ryan Kreidler, Eddys Leonard, Andre Lipcius, Wenceel Perez and Spencer Torkelson for roster spots. All of them are infielders on the 40-man roster.
Hiura is still just 27 years old.
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