UC Irvine alumni, Keston Hiura, is back in the majors with the Los Angeles Angels after smashing 12 homers in 19 games at AAA Salt Lake

Former Milwaukee Brewers’ top prospect Keston Hiura is coming to the big leagues for the first time since the end of 2022 season.

He’s been promoted by the Los Angeles Angels to take the place of the injured Luis Rengifo, who was placed on the injured list.

Hiura nearly made the Detroit Tigers roster out of spring training but was sent to Triple-A. With Toledo, he hit .232 in 49 games. He had six homers and 24 RBI, however his season has turned around with the Angels organization. In just 19 games with the Halos Triple-A team, he’s got 12 homers and 21 RBI.

Hiura was let go by the Brewers at the outset of this past offseason, which was a disappointing end to his tenure in the organization. He was at one point ranked the No. 20 overall prospect in baseball (2019) by MLB.com.

He appeared in games each year for the Brewers from 2019-2022 before being outrighted off the 40-man roster for 2023.

Unfortunately, he regressed nearly every year of his big league tenure. He came up in 2019, playing in 84 games and popping 19 home runs. In the COVID 2020 season, he hit 13 home runs in 59 games. Then in 2021, his offense cratered: He hit four home runs in 61 games and struggled to a .168 batting average. In 2022, he played in 80 games and hit 14 homers, but still batted just .226.

The strikeout has always been a major problem for Hiura. He led baseball in strikeouts during the COVID year, fanning 85 times in just the 60-game season.

Source: https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/former-milwaukee-brewers-top-prospect-keston-hiura-gets-another-crack-at-big-leagues-with-angels-01j222428jmm