Milwaukee Brewers: What the Keston Hiura call up means for Travis Shaw

The long and awaited debut of Milwaukee Brewers’ number one prospect–number 15 prospect in MLB–Keston Hiura is finally here.  While it seemed like it would not happen this early in the season, Hiura will join the Brewers in Philadelphia tonight.  But what does that mean for Travis Shaw?

Keston Hiura will be batting in the seven spot and playing second base tonight for the Milwaukee Brewers series against the heavily stacked Philadelphia Phillies. Hiura being called up was not anticipated to be this early in the season or even at all during 2019, but lo and behold his time has come.

He is being called up to replace Travis Shaw who was placed on the 10-day IL with some pain in his wrist.  It seems like this season has been getting worse and worse for Shaw as each day goes by.

What Does Keston Hiura Bring To The Table?

As mentioned before, Hiura is the number one prospect in the Brewers’ organization and ranked number 15 in all of Major League Baseball. He has been putting up some noticeable numbers while in Triple-A, especially this year. He’s batting .333/.408/.698 with 11 home runs and 26 runs batted in. That 1.106 OPS is remarkable!

While the general belief was that Keston would not join the big league club until later in the season when the roster sizes were to expand, Milwaukee calls upon him to hopefully produce some runs and to get on base on May 14th.

What Does This Mean For Travis Shaw?

This season has been anything but great for the free swinging third baseman. As if it could possibly get any worse than his .163 batting average, Shaw has just been placed on the 10-day IL with a right wrist strain. That’s one of the major reasons why Hiura has been called up today.

What happens with Hiura’s performance the next few games will help determine what the future of Travis Shaw will hold. If Keston Hiura brings a lot of production and is able to stay on the roster for a while, it could be said that Shaw will either be a role player off of the bench or maybe even see some time in San Antonio. If Hiura’s up, he’s going to get regular playing time. When Shaw returns, Hiura may have stolen a starting job by then, and if that happens, Mike Moustakas isn’t coming out of the lineup, and Shaw is facing an uphill climb for at-bats.

But if Hiura shows that he does not have it takes quite yet, I still believe it could be said that Shaw may not see Triple-A if Hiura can’t get it done these next few games but will be a bat to come off of the bench and get the surging Mike Moustakas more playing time at his normal position, third base.

The slump to start the year for Shaw has been tough for the Milwaukee Brewers to watch. The wrist injury provides an explanation for his struggles if it’s been nagging him for awhile.