Earlier this offseason, I wrote about the Brewers’ revolving door at first base. Every since the departure of Prince Fielder, the Brewers have had a different first baseman starting on Opening Day in each season. Keston Hiura, of course, broke into the Majors as a second baseman. However, with the signing of Gold Glove second baseman Kolten Wong, the Brewers will be moving Hiura to first base. Entering his age 24 season and under club control for the next several years, Keston Hiura may very well be the answer the Brewers have been searching for at first base.
The Brewers have had a new Opening Day 1B every year since Prince Fielder left after 2011:
2012: Mat Gamel
2013: Alex Gonzalez
2014: Lyle Overbay
2015: Adam Lind
2016: Chris Carter
2017: Eric Thames
2018: Ryan Braun
2019: Jesus Aguilar
2020: Justin Smoak
2021: Keston Hiura?— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) February 5, 2021
Keston Hiura’s Career Thus Far
Keston Hiura slugged his way into the hearts of Brewers’ fans when he made his Major League debut in 2019. That year, be played 84 games, hitting .303/.368/.570 with 19 home runs and 49 RBI. Of course, Hiura and many other players struggled in 2020, and his slashline took a dive. Last season, he hit just .212/.297/.410 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI.
The major weakness in Hiura’s offensive game is his penchant for strikeouts. In 2019, he struck out 107 times in 84 games. Last year, Hiura led the NL in strikeouts, striking out 85 times in 59 games.
Offensively, Hiura Makes Sense at First Base
When all of these numbers are taken into consideration, Hiura’s offensive production is on par with that of a very productive first baseman. Hiura has played a total of 143 games, a reasonable number of games played for any starting first baseman. His two-season slashline is .266/.338/.505 with 32 home runs and 81 RBI. This is good for a 162-game pace of 36 home runs and 92 RBI.
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First base is typically a position of power, and given Hiura’s production in what would be a typical amount of games played in a full season, he certainly fits the bill. Unfortunately, his strikeout pace is troubling, with 192 punchouts already, on pace for 218 in 162 games. That being said, Hiura’s bat is what got him to the Majors, and his ability to mash the ball outweighs his strikeout problem (for now).
Can Hiura Even Play First Base?
As many fans have indicated on social media, it is hard to imagine Hiura being a worse first baseman than he was a second baseman. Hiura has not played first base before, though, so there will be a learning curve early on.
Some fans jokingly ask if Hiura is even tall enough to play first base. It’s a foolish question, really. You see, Keston Hiura is an even six feet tall. Prince Fielder is five foot-eleven, as is Eric Thames. In any case, if he struggles at all at first base, it won’t be because of his height.
Keston Hiura himself, though, seems to believe that he can play first and do well:
Keston Hiura was kind enough to jump on Zoom to talk about his position switch. He said Craig Counsell raised the possibility a couple of weeks ago. "I realized I'm going to be just fine over there. They have really high hopes for me," Hiura said.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) February 5, 2021
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