How Brewers might address Hiura's slump

MILWAUKEE -- Are the Brewers mulling another stint in the Minors for slumping first baseman Keston Hiura?

In the wake of another hitless, multi-strikeout night in Tuesday’s loss to the Tigers, manager Craig Counsell offered clues that they are.

“Unfortunately, it’s the opposite of Tyrone [Taylor],” Counsell said, referring to the outfielder who was also sent down amid an unproductive stretch, and returned Tuesday to hit a pair of home runs. “They both went down there and had a lot of success. Keston’s hot streak down there has not translated up here.

“We’ve got to evaluate it, there’s no question. He has not had a good night since he’s been back, really. A decent day [Monday], but we need production from that spot. That’s the bottom line.”

That sort of language often precedes a move. The Brewers had an off-day on Wednesday to assess what to do, if anything, before they return to action on Thursday night against the D-backs at American Family Field.

Hiura has not produced consistently since 2019, when he completed a mad dash through the Brewers’ Minor League system by reaching the Majors and hitting 19 home runs with a .938 OPS in 84 games.

This season Hiura moved to first base and is slashing .127/.219/.216. Among hitters with at least 100 Major League at-bats this year -- Hiura is at 102 -- he has the lowest batting average and weighted runs created plus in the Majors (26) and the lowest fWAR (-0.9) in the NL. He also has the NL’s second highest strikeout rate (38.8 percent).

Trouble is, the Brewers already tried one stint at Triple-A Nashville to get Hiura going. After a week at home in California to clear his head, he went 14-for-32 with six doubles and three home runs for the Sounds to earn his way back to Milwaukee. Since returning, however, Hiura is 1-for-23 with 13 strikeouts in seven games. He is hitless in his last 21 at-bats.

“When you’re coaching a guy every day, it’s excruciating to see him go through that and have to get sent back,” Brewers hitting coach Andy Haines said last month when Hiura was demoted for the first time. “I’ve told the story: Mike Trout went back to Triple-A. Mike Trout was awful and went back. Mickey Mantle went back. I can go on and on. I think it’s more odd for somebody not to go back ever than to stay.”

With Hiura’s struggles, the Brewers are last in MLB in fWAR at first base (-1.3) and second last in wRC+ (67), wOBA (.267), OPS (.596) and average (.186).

But the club is not exactly swimming in options. Hiura’s platoon partner, Daniel Vogelbach, has a .323 on-base percentage but hasn’t hit much (.204 average) or hit for power (.324 slugging percentage) and is 2-for-18 this season against left-handed pitchers. Travis Shaw would be an option because the Brewers have other players who could man third base, but he has just four hits in his last 40 at-bats to drop his average through 50 games played to .199 and his OPS to .648.

In the Minors, Milwaukee’s top two Brewers affiliates have taken a team approach to first base. Four candidates stand out for the Brewers, though none are on the 40-man roster:

Zach Green: The 27-year-old played briefly in the big leagues for the Giants in 2019 but has mostly mashed in the Minors, including a 20-homer season in 2018 and a 25-homer season at the Triple-A level in ’19. He’s hitting for big power for the Sounds, with nine home runs and a 1.001 OPS in 84 plate appearances, but he’s striking out in 36.9 percent of plate appearances. He’s a good third baseman who can also play first, so he’d give the Brewers some defensive versatility.

Dustin Peterson: A 26-year-old who briefly appeared in the Majors with Atlanta in 2019 and Detroit in ’19, Peterson hit 11 home runs in 37 games in Mexico last winter before singing a Minor League deal with Milwaukee. His .787 OPS for Nashville is modest compared to Green, but Peterson makes far more contact; he’s only struck out eight times in his first 90 plate appearances.

Weston Wilson: Drafted by the Brewers in the 17th round out of Clemson in 2016, Wilson hit 19 homers at Double-A Biloxi in 2019 and has been showing more power each year in the system. He’s hitting .195 at Nashville but has reached base at a .340 clip and has an .852 OPS in 50 plate appearances.

Lucas Erceg: A long shot as Erceg is working on the transition to a two-way player at Double-A Biloxi, pitching relief and playing the infield. The Shuckers’ primary first basemen so far, Ryan Aguilar and Chad Spanberger, each have an OPS below .600, but Erceg is slashing .255/.340/.404 in 53 plate appearances and has experience at first base.

In the long term, however, the Brewers are highly incentivized to figure out some answers for Hiura.

"One thing we're able to do down here is he's able to come down here and clear everything out,” said Triple-A manager Rick Sweet, whose club was riding a 13-game winning streak into Wednesday night. “We don't have the pressure down here that they have at the big league level, whether that's self-induced pressure or just the pressure of being in the big leagues. But Keston Hiura has hit everywhere he's been his whole life and that includes the big leagues. They sent him down once early, and he fixed it and got right back into it. In my opinion, Keston Hiura can still hit, and he’s going to hit with power.

“Obviously, he's really struggling again. I don't know what their plan is with him. I have not talked to them about that, but my feeling is you don't forget how to hit. You don’t lose your ability to hit. He's going to be back to the Keston Hiura we know and have come to expect. It's just a matter of time. Whether that means another stint here, whether that means getting it done up there, the powers above me will decide on that. But Keston Hiura can hit."