Just about everyone in the Brewers’ lineup has scuffled in this odd 2020 season, but few have struggled as much as Keston Hiura.
Despite that, manager Craig Counsell has been intent on having Hiura try to find his way out of his two-month long sophomore slump. He had been the only Brewers regular not to get a day off during the shortened 60-game season — until now.
With the team looking for more offense as they make a playoff push with 7 games to go, Hiura will be on the bench when tonight’s game against Cincinnati starts.
Hiura leads the team with 13 home runs, but has struggled to consistently make contact. He’s struck out in 34.4% of his plate appearances this year — up nearly 4% from last year, and the second-highest rate in the National League this year (only Colorado’s Ryan McMahon is higher at 36.1%, although Miguel Sano, Evan White, Willy Adames and Joey Gallo are all higher in the AL).
Hiura’s line has fallen to .215/.308/.436 on the season during his most recent cold streak, in which he’s 2 for his last 15 with 10 strikeouts.
He’s whiffed on 43.5% of his swings this year, up from 36.2% last year, but he’s still somehow managed to sting the ball when he does make contact, ranking in the 92nd percentile when it comes to Barrel% and in the 65th percentile in Hard Hit%.
We’ll see if this is just a one-day mental break for Hiura, similar to what Craig Counsell has done for Christian Yelich a couple times this year, or if this is more of a week-long shift as the team tries to field its best 9 every day in pursuit of a playoff spot.
Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and Statcast
Comments
This isn't a permanent move, IMO
While Hiura has definitely struggled, Sogard – who is effectively replacing him – has been putrid. You could easily put Peterson at 1B, Gyorko at 3B and bring Keston back in the rest of the way.
Even with the Ks, Hiura is a much more dangerous bat than Sogard and needs to be in there after tonight.
By mjdietz on 09.22.20 1:33pm
It isn't a permanent move
In anyone’s opinion
By ItsCalledABubbler on 09.22.20 4:01pm
Notice how no one cares about your comment whether they believe it or not.
Any excuse to rag on Sogard and they take it.
By Lerch&Brouhard on 09.22.20 4:56pm
Who needs an excuse?
By Junbug11 on 09.22.20 4:58pm
Hard to think Sogard as an improvement of KH no matter how bad of a slump KH is having
A day off isn’t the worst idea
By Spaul149 on 09.22.20 1:35pm
It isn’t a permanent switch.
By Ben Reagan on 09.22.20 3:38pm
Defensive Lineup
It’s also good timing because it is a Brett Anderson start. This is one of their most defensively sound lineups they could put out.
By steiny5710 on 09.22.20 1:43pm
Urias is a way better defender than Sogard at 3B, though.
He’s also a way better hitter.
By dele on 09.22.20 3:40pm
2 innings, 2 errors
Wonderful
By steiny5710 on 09.22.20 6:13pm
It’s a mental day off for a hitter that is totally struggling. 10 k’s in his last 15 ABs…Sogard will most likely not strikeout three times today; whether that translates into anything positive remains to be seen. If it works, and Hiura goes on a tear for the last six games, then YAY. I’m kinda impressed that CC continues to make decisions based on the players and not the desperate situation they find themselves in. If you aren’t willing to do the things that give you (what you believe to be) the best chance to win, then you shouldn’t be a manager. CC knows he can get second-guessed to hell and back again, but he’s acting anyways. Good for him.
By Ben Reagan on 09.22.20 1:48pm
Yeah,
I mean Hiura has played a ton of ball. Even with the DH, to have played every game by this point has probably taken a toll on a guy considering he’s still just 23 and the Brewer’s murderous schedule this month. The fact you have guys like Vogelbach, Braun and Nottingham hitting well over the past week allows you to do this without feeling too bad.
By mjdietz on 09.22.20 1:54pm
Sogard: a HBP and a walk. Hey, it works for me.
By WAN2 on 09.22.20 1:57pm
Keston aside
The lineup we’re sending up against Sonny Gray, one of the best pitchers in baseball, is disheartening. Six of the 9 hitters are hitting under .219, and that doesn’t include Arcia, hitting .247 while slugging a minuscule .373. Only Braun and Gyrko, at .255 and .274 respectively, are having what would even be considered average years. The hope is the middle of Yelich, Braun, Vogelfarley, and Gyrko can do some damage. Not much hope for the rest. So we’re likely to score between 17 and 19 runs today because that’s baseball.
By jblasberg12 on 09.22.20 2:01pm
ha ha ha
Vogelfarley…. That was good!
The Chris Farley look alike… I get it.
Very good.
By Brew Crew Buster on 09.22.20 3:07pm
Yeah
I had to shake my head at a last week playoff chase lineup that includes Sogard and Peterson
By icelandreliant on 09.22.20 3:58pm
To be fair, Cards also have six guys hitting under .231
Strange year. Maybe it’s the ball. It’s different from last year’s rubber balls that flew out of the park on bunt attempts. This year’s ball is somehow doing things that are confusing to many hitters. Too many good hitters having off years similar to Yelich. Strange.
By jblasberg12 on 09.22.20 4:36pm
Then of course Sogard has two hits and the GWRBI
By SANDYTOLAN on 09.22.20 10:12pm
My viewing ends when Cincy scores 3. On the other hand, there IS a certain ghoulish attraction to witnessing ineptitude.
By WAN2 on 09.22.20 2:22pm
It will
be interesting to see how Hiura and Yelich will make adjustments during the off season. If they can’t adjust, then the Brewers are in deep trouble for a number of years.
It was always possible that Hiura would have some contact issues but he was able to maintain a high batting average through his time in the minors due to a high hard contact rate and evidently feasting on fastballs with out the same velocity. Can he adjust approach or swing to not dive after balls off the plate and have the bat speed to be able to catch up to some of the better fastballs?
Pitchers have finally realized that busting Yelich inside off the plate can work and get him frustrated. And considering the rest of the line up, they often never throw him strikes. The pitch inside he can adjust too, the fact that he isn’t getting anything to hit because there is no one on base or hitting with any consistency behind him is out of his control. The Brewers organization needs to provide some cover.
By Brew Crew Buster on 09.22.20 3:17pm
I totally disagree with your take on Yelich
Yelich has gotten too passive and is letting the good pitches go. His walk rate is way up, so is his K rate and he is swinging less in general. Its actually down 10 percentage points to a career low of 35%. And his contact rate is down 5 percentage points. His fly ball rate is down and ground ball rate up.
With out digging in more here, he’s essentially letting too many hittable pitches go and this is leading to Ks and hitting pitches he cant elevate as well.
much like Grisham in the minors, he needs to swing at good pitches to hit.
By kozlow22 on 09.22.20 3:49pm
He thinks that walking is better than striking out so he is taking pitches
because he doesn’t feel like he can drive them. He has become the ‘hunted’ this year, instead of the ‘hunter’. Last year, he would even hunt pitches out of the zone and crush them. He is not stepping in the bucket as badly now, but his body and eyes need to adjust to that change so it will likely be next season before his confidence returns fully.
I really think the broken knee cap messed with his psyche.
By Robin's Home Town on 09.22.20 4:26pm
All true but he really isn't getting good pitches to hit
Everything inside, high outside, or low in the dirt. With Braun out so much and Hiura looking like he’s trying to hit a Wiffleball, pitchers know they don’t have to let Yelich beat them so they pitch around him. Last year with Moose, Braun, Grandall and "good" Keston coming up they couldn’t afford to put him on base.
By jblasberg12 on 09.22.20 4:30pm
And the 2021 lineup will be potent? How?
By WAN2 on 09.22.20 4:46pm
No, I don't think it will be
Unless Attanasio sells the club. I also believe Stearns won’t be here long if handcuffed as he has been this year. You finally have a pitching staff and a top 3 hitter in all of baseball and you send out a lineup that couldn’t win a AAA championship. Insane.
By jblasberg12 on 09.22.20 5:16pm
The point is that he is taking all of the good pitches to hit
Watch his AB’s from last night. He used to ambush first pitches and he just isn’t this season. He is not the hunter anymore.
By Robin's Home Town on 09.23.20 9:58am