Tigers first baseman Keston Hiura catches the ball against the Yankees during the first inning of the Grapefruit League season opener at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Colorado Rockies' Minor League First Baseman Keston Hiura Records Wild Putout

Originally posted on Minor League Baseball on SI
By Sam Connon | Last updated May 16, 2025 1:15 PM ET

The Albuqurque Isotopes were clinging onto a one-run lead over the Tacoma Rainiers on Thursday when their defense came through in a bizarre clutch moment.

A leadoff single and double gave the Rainiers two runners in scoring position with no outs when Cole Young stepped up to the plate in the top of the fifth. Young sent a sharp grounder to first baseman Keston Hiura, hoping to plate at least one run against the Colorado Rockies' Triple-A affiliate.

Jack López stayed put at third, though, all while Samad Taylor made a break from second. Instead of risking a wild throw, Hiura fielded the ball cleanly and trotted across the diamond to tag out Taylor.

The end result was a fielder's choice that was scored as a rare 3-unassisted putout at third base.

Just your run-of-the-mill 3-unassisted putout near THIRD BASE

Keston Hiura (@Rockies) jogs across the diamond for a one-of-a-kind fielder's choice for the @ABQTopes. pic.twitter.com/FH32MU7M73
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 16, 2025

López scored on a groundout to second the very next at-bat, partially diminishing the impact of Hiura's head's up play. Still, the Isotopes preserved the tie for the time being.

A sacrifice fly in the seventh and an RBI double in the ninth gave Albuquerque the win in walk-off fashion, so every run – and out – wound up making a difference.

Hiura finished the contest 1-for-2 with two walks.

The 28-year-old infielder joined the Rockies on a minor league deal this past offseason. He split last season between the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers, coming off the back of seven years in the Milwaukee Brewers' system.

Milwaukee took Hiura in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft, and he proceeded to post a 1.5 WAR in 284 big league games between 2019 and 2022. He got a brief taste of MLB action with the Angels in 2024, but hasn't been on an active major league roster since last July.

It will take more than one defensive highlight to convince the Rockies to promote Hiura, who is batting .200 with a .658 OPS in Triple-A this season. But the veteran is doing his best to stay afloat, demonstrating his abilities at both first and second base in case Colorado ever needs reinforcements.

This article first appeared on Minor League Baseball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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