Brewers: Here’s What Keston Hiura’s MLB Promotion Really Means

There were whispers of Keston Hiura being with the Brewers in St. Louis this morning, then it was announced by the organization that the young infielder was being recalled from Triple-A Nashville.

With only four remaining regular season games and the roster being trimmed to 26 players for the playoffs, many are wondering what this move means for the Brewers and for Keston Hiura himself.

Here are likely reasons why the move was made.

1. Ending The Year On A High Note

The struggles have continued in minor league play for Keston Hiura. The last 28 days he’s slashing .158/.304/.368 with only two multi-hit games. It’s been a season to forget for Hiura but he gets a chance to gain some momentum going into next season.

With Rowdy Tellez essentially swapping spots with Hiura, there are some at-bats to be had for the 2019 standout. And those plate appearances will be coming against southpaw starters the next three days at least with J.A. Happ, Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urias being slated to go against the Crew. Even during a tough year for Hiura, his numbers against lefties have been respectable so seeing the probable starters makes you think he’ll get considerable time.

A couple extra base hits to end the season would do wonders for Keston Hiura entering the offseason. An offseason that I’m sure he’s looking forward to in hopes of putting the last couple seasons in the rearview mirror.

2. Rest For The Starters

With the nagging injury bug that seems to be inside the Brewers clubhouse right now, it’s smarter to give some guys’ bodies a much needed break. Rowdy Tellez is rehabbing in Triple-A Nashville so he’s easing himself back into the swing of things while Willy Adames and Eduardo Escobar have both sustained some injuries in the last month. Injuries can completely derail a postseason run so you want to be as healthy as possible.

The flip side to this is that the offense has been scuffling as of late and some hitters are currently in the midst of a funk. Getting some key hitters back to top form should be a top priority right now and it’s tough to do that with them on the shelf resting before playoff baseball begins.

All things considered, players are more valuable when they’re healthy entering the postseason. You can break out of a slump, but you can’t miraculously play through certain injuries. Keston Hiura can give rest to guys like Eduardo Escobar and Kolten Wong who may look refreshed with a bit of PTO.

Of course, there is a chance to create even more frustration and question marks for Hiura and the Brewers come offseason.

A downside of this move is that Keston Hiura will inevitably be taking at-bats away from guys that will be on the postseason roster. If his tough stretch continues it might just reopen the wound of MLB troubles and stay with him during the offseason as he tries to rework his approach and swing.

Keston Hiura will likely not make the postseason roster when the cuts are made. There are too many other players in better form than him right now, so this move is completely temporary. But there are benefits to giving him a little more major league action before he enters the offseason. Hopefully he can sort things out and look like the Keston Hiura of old when next season rolls around, because he still has one of the highest ceilings in the Brewers entire organization.

There was some more good news to come out involving Keston Hiura that was released today as well.

One thing we can all agree on is that this team is better with a confident Keston Hiura barreling up baseballs. When that version of him will return, nobody knows, but we hope it’s sooner than later.

The only way to find out though is to give him at-bats in the big leagues, and that’s what the Brewers are doing here.