Brewers Demote Top Prospect Keston Hiura to Make Room for Travis Shaw in Puzzling Move
By Zack Jiang
In a rather puzzling move, the Milwaukee Brewers are sending down a top prospect to welcome a struggling infielder back into the fold.
With first baseman Travis Shaw coming back from a wrist injury, the Brewers have demoted their top prospect Keston Hiura to Triple-A San Antonio.
2B Keston Hiura has been optioned to Triple-A San Antonio. pic.twitter.com/hX7RdUJcb4
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 3, 2019
Hiura was demoted despite batting a modest .281 in limited time in the majors. Shaw, meanwhile, features an average below the Mendoza line. Safe to say this is a move Brewers fans were loathing. For now, they must have faith in a front office which has proven more than capable in recent years.
Hiura was drafted by the Brewers ninth-overall in the 2017 MLB draft. He finally got to experience the majors this season and has been very solid in his debut season.
The move Brewers fans have been dreading. Hiura goes back down to make room for Travis Shaw’s return from IL. https://t.co/L7ciO1hak2
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) June 3, 2019
Hiura has absolutely earned his spot in the majors, and it could be argued that demoting him will make the team even worse. While Milwaukee doesn't want to give up on Shaw, taking away Hiura's bat from a first-place ball-club is a tough argument for the front office to make at this juncture.