Keston Hiura

Keston Hiura

26-Year-Old First Baseman1B
Milwaukee Brewers
2023 Fantasy Outlook
After seeing his OPS plummet at least 150 points in back-to-back seasons, Hiura bounced back in 2022 and finished well above average in that category league-wide. His 14 homers and 23 extra-base hits were both his best marks since his 2019 rookie season, and he also had the best walk rate of his career. However, he struck out at a higher rate than ever before and was below average in the field, and he wound up starting only 57 games. Hiura's pop keeps him on the Brewers' roster for the time being, but he looks like a part-time player at this point, and an atypical one at that, as he hit righties far better than lefties over the last three years. All of Hiura's slash numbers last season were in line with his career averages and he also benefited from a high BABIP, so while he remains only 26 years old, it seems unlikely he will find the form that allowed him to make a fantasy impact as a rookie. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#548
ADP
$Signed a $4 million contract with the Brewers in June of 2017.
Won't make Opening Day roster
1BMilwaukee Brewers
March 24, 2023
Hiura was informed Friday that he will not be on the Brewers' Opening Day roster, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
ANALYSIS
That might help explain why Hiura was scratched from the starting lineup for Friday's Cactus League game against the Dodgers. Milwaukee will look to trade the former top prospect over the next few days, per general manager Matt Arnold. If there are no takers, he'll be put on waivers. It sure sounds like the 26-year-old's time in the Brewers organization is about to come to an end.
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Batting Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2019
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
6
10
8
5
2
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
10
16
6
2
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2020
 
 
+25%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+40%
OPS vs RHP
2021
 
 
+53%
OPS vs RHP
2020
 
 
+1%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2020vs Left .590 228 23 6 25 4 .189 .276 .313
Since 2020vs Right .740 477 57 25 58 7 .215 .303 .437
2022vs Left .619 109 11 3 11 3 .188 .275 .344
2022vs Right .866 157 23 11 21 2 .254 .344 .522
2021vs Left .407 59 5 1 5 1 .130 .203 .204
2021vs Right .624 138 11 3 14 2 .185 .279 .345
2020vs Left .723 60 7 2 9 0 .255 .350 .373
2020vs Right .718 182 23 11 23 3 .204 .286 .432
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2020
 
 
+7%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+19%
OPS on Road
2021
 
 
+35%
OPS at Home
2020
 
 
+15%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2020Home .679 396 44 16 50 6 .202 .292 .387
Since 2020Away .724 291 35 15 33 5 .211 .302 .422
2022Home .711 157 18 7 22 3 .227 .299 .411
2022Away .845 109 16 7 10 2 .226 .339 .505
2021Home .621 122 12 3 13 1 .173 .275 .346
2021Away .459 75 4 1 6 2 .159 .227 .232
2020Home .695 117 14 6 15 2 .198 .299 .396
2020Away .796 107 15 7 17 1 .234 .318 .479
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Stat Review
How does Keston Hiura compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.21
 
BB Rate
8.6%
 
K Rate
41.7%
 
BABIP
.355
 
ISO
.222
 
AVG
.226
 
OBP
.316
 
SLG
.449
 
OPS
.765
 
wOBA
.337
 
Exit Velocity
91.7 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
38.7%
 
Barrels/PA
7.1%
 
Expected BA
.205
 
Expected SLG
.425
 
Sprint Speed
23.6 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
37.1%
 
Line Drive %
25.8%
 
Fly Ball %
37.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Keston Hiura See More
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
Always a bat-first player with strikeout concerns, Hiura has remained a poor defender while his offense has completely fallen off over the past two seasons. He has hit .192 with a 36.6 K% and a 6.8 BB% in 443 plate appearances since the start of the 2020 season. Given his defensive limitations, he needs to rebound in a big way at the plate in order to play with any regularity this season, especially after the Brewers signed Andrew McCutchen with the intent of playing him primarily at designated hitter. Hiura will be working on playing the outfield this spring in an effort to increase his defensive versatility, but his average speed and below-average arm don't portend much more success out there than he had on the right side of the infield.
Hiura burst onto the scene in his 2019 rookie season, putting up elite numbers from the second base position almost immediately after making his big-league debut. As such, expectations were high for Hiura in his second season, particularly with him moving to a prime spot in the heart of the Brewers' order. While Hiura put up some of the best counting stats among second basemen in 2020, he also really struggled in the ratio departments, thanks mainly to a National League-worst 34.6 K% (among qualified hitters). With Hiura failing to make much contact, he also did not find himself on base much and stole just three bases last season. Hiura struck out a lot in his rookie season, too, but he was far less lucky in his second campaign, as his BABIP nosedived. Hiura will need to make some adjustments in Year 3, but he has the skills to be an elite hitter and has as good a chance to return value in 2021 as anyone.
Triple-A pitchers provided little challenge, and Hiura earned his first trip to the majors in mid-May thanks to a Travis Shaw injury. Hiura showed the hitting skills that made him a Top-10 prospect in baseball, but the Brewers still sent him back down when Shaw returned. Shaw struggled mightily, and Hiura became a regular in the big-league lineup in late June. All he did after that was impress at the plate, posting a .956 OPS the rest of the way. Hiura did strike out in 30.7 percent of his MLB at-bats last year, but he has the bat speed to cut that at least closer to league average. Of greater concern is Hiura's defense, which won't hurt his value in most formats but could lead to him being subbed out for a defensive replacement more than desired. Despite the flaws Hiura will be an everyday player and hit near the top of the batting order, and he has all the tools to be a five-category contributor.
One of the best hitters in the minors, Hiura was challenged (by his standards) for the first time at Double-A, but closed out the year strong, being named the MVP of the Arizona Fall League. He hit .323/.371/.563 with five homers and a 28:6 K:BB in 96 at-bats in the AFL, where he was sent to get more reps at second base, as an elbow injury limited him to DH duty early in his pro career. A side effect of his offensive exploits in the AFL may be that he needs less time at Triple-A before the Brewers summon their top prospect to the majors. He will need to force the issue, but if he appears to have mastered Pacific Coast League pitching, he could get the call early this summer. Hiura should hit for a high average -- he is a career .313 hitter in 165 minor-league games. He is aggressive at the plate, but regularly barrels balls to all fields, so that approach should work for him. Hiura may develop 25-homer pop and could chip in 10-plus steals early in his career.
Looking to add an impact bat with their first selection in the 2017 draft, the Brewers snapped up Hiura with the ninth overall pick. His statistics from his final collegiate season speak directly to his potential at the plate -- he led the country in both batting average (.442) and OBP (.567) while adding 33 extra-base hits and walking more than he struck out over his 199 at-bats. Further demonstrating that he possesses a special bat, he posted a 1.033 OPS in his first professional season. It won't be long before Hiura is ready to hit in the big leagues, while likely manning the keystone. An elbow injury has limited him -- not much, clearly -- since 2016, but he hopes to put that behind him this offseason. His potential to hit for a very high average while hitting 20-plus home runs and qualifying at a scarce position make him one of the top two or three targets for dynasty leagues from last year's draft class. As an advanced college hitter, he should move quickly and could reach the majors as soon as 2019.
More Fantasy News
Scratched from lineup
1BMilwaukee Brewers
March 24, 2023
Hiura was scratched from the Brewers' lineup ahead of their game against the Dodgers on Friday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
ANALYSIS
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Bringing back toe tap
1BMilwaukee Brewers
March 21, 2023
Hiura has brought back the toe tap in his swing, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Settles at $2.2 million
1BMilwaukee Brewers
January 13, 2023
Hiura agreed to a one-year, $2.2 million contract with the Brewers on Friday to avoid arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Run of starts ends
1BMilwaukee Brewers
September 5, 2022
Hiura is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rockies.
ANALYSIS
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Hits walkoff homer
1BMilwaukee Brewers
August 30, 2022
Hiura went 1-for-3 and hit a game-winning, two-run home run in Monday's 7-5 victory over the Pirates.
ANALYSIS
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