Hiura goes yard again for Brewers

When Keston Hiura is swinging a hot bat, it might be best to get out of the way. Major League pitchers are learning the hard way this weekend. 
A day after clubbing his first home run of Spring Training, the top-ranked Brewers prospect left the yard again. Hiura did a little bit of everything offensively -- drawing a walk, stealing a base and plating another run with a single -- in the Brewers' 11-2 romp over the A's on Saturday at Hohokam Stadium.

Facing A's starter Tanner Anderson with one out in the second inning, Hiura sent a single back up the middle to score Manny Piña. Two innings later, MLB.com's No. 20 overall prospect tried to manufacture a run, drawing a walk and leading a successful double-steal to put runners on second and third with one out, but the Brewers could not capitalize. 
In the sixth, the 22-year-old faced Jerry Blevins with two men in scoring position. They didn't have to run with maximum effort because Hiura deposited a 2-2 offering from the veteran left-hander over the left field wall for his second homer in as many days. The back-to-back Organizational All-Star and 2018 Futures Game participant struck out in the seventh and is hitting .273 with a .976 OPS in Cactus League play. 
The ninth overall pick of the 2017 Draft made it clear why he possesses a 70-grade hit tool through his play last year, his first full season in the Minor Leagues. Hiura began the campaign with Class A Advanced Carolina, where he batted .320/.382/.529 and earned a promotion to Double-A Biloxi. Although his numbers dipped there -- he hit .272 with a .755 OPS -- the UC Irvine product totaled 13 homers and 43 RBIs across both levels. 
After the season, Hiura headed to the Arizona Fall League, where he posted a 323/.371/.563 slash line with five homers and a league-leading 33 RBIs. He was named the circuit's MVP and helped the Peoria Javelinas win the championship.
As recently as a month ago, Hiura's path to the Major Leagues -- at least for 2019 -- was clearer. But the team re-signed Mike Moustakas to a one-year deal, perhaps indicating the Brewers' preference to bring the California native up in 2020. But if the 5-foot-11 prospect keeps raking in the Minors, he could give the organization no choice. 
Brewers No. 6 prospect Zack Brown tossed three innings of hitless relief, issuing a pair of walks and lowering his spring ERA to 1.50. No. 30 Trent Grisham clubbed a solo shot. 
Third-ranked A's prospect Sean Murphy lined an RBI single in the ninth.

In other spring action:

Orioles (ss) 17, Rays 15
Ryan Mountcastle capped a three-hit effort with his first spring homer as the second-ranked Orioles prospect blasted a three-run shot to center field as part of a four-RBI day. Orioles No. 4 prospect Austin Hays crushed a two-run shot, doubled, knocked in four runs and scored twice. No. 25 Drew Jackson singled and drove in a run with a groundout in the second. O's No. 21 prospect Cody Carroll tossed a perfect frame of relief with a punchout. Rays No. 9 prospect Brandon Lowe continued his torrid spring with a two-run dinger, an RBI single and two runs scored. He's batting .462 in nine Grapefruit League games. Box score
Twins 10, Pirates 1
No. 17 Twins prospect Luis Arraez doubled and scored a run, while 22nd-ranked LaMonte Wade Jr clubbed a three-run dinger and singled. Pirates No. 11 prospect Jason Martin ripped a triple to right in the eighth and scored the Bucs' lone run. Box score
Mets 10, Red Sox 2
Top Mets prospect Pete Alonso mashed his third spring roundtripper, a prodigious solo shot in the sixth, and added a base hit to raise his average to .423. Box score
Braves 6, Tigers 4
Braves No. 4 prospect Cristian Pache mashed a two-run blast for his second homer in as many days. Fifth-ranked Austin Riley doubled and singled, whie No. 29 Jefrey Ramos crushed a solo shot in the seventh. Tigers No. 5 prospect Daz Cameron laced an RBI double that scored 15th-ranked Sergio Alcántara, who walked. No. 8 prospect Christin Stewart lined a two-run double to right and scored for Detroit. Box score
Astros 9, Cardinals 3
Second-ranked Astros prospect Kyle Tucker entered as a pinch-runner and scored a run, while No. 3 Yordan Alvarez singled and scored twice. Seth Beer (No. 10) and Myles Straw (No. 16) also scored for Houston. No. 15 Astros prospect Brandon Bielak allowed a hit over three innings of scoreless relief to earn the win. Cardinals No. 13 prospect Tommy Edman clubbed a two-run blast, singled and made a spectacular play going to his right at second base. Top St. Louis prospect Alex Reyes yielded a pair of walks in a scoreless inning. Box score
Blue Jays 8, Phillies 7
No. 11 Blue Jays prospect Anthony Alford clubbed his fourth spring dinger, a three-run blast, walked and scored twice. No. 21 prospect Rowdy Tellez singled and scored for Toronto. Box score
Cubs (ss) 11, Angels (ss) 4
An injury to top Angels prospect Jo Adell overshadowed a monster game by Cubs No. 2 prospect Nico Hoerner. Hoerner hit his first Cactus League homer, a two-run shot in the third, and added a double and a walk with three runs scored. MLB.com's No. 100 overall prospect is 5-for-6 (.833) this spring. Adell singled in his only at-bat in the second inning but slipped while rounding second base, sprained his ankle and strained his hamstring. Angels No. 4 prospect Jahmai Jones doubled in a run in the fourth and walked twice. Cubs No. 22 prospect Oscar De La Cruz yielded a run on two hits and struck out a pair in the ninth inning. Angels No. 2 prospect Griffin Canning issued four walks over 1 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits. Box score
Indians 7, Rockies (ss) 1
Indians No. 22 prospect Daniel Johnson scored twice without registering an official at-bat after entering as a pinch-runner in the sixth. Rockies No. 7 prospect Tyler Nevin had a hit in two at-bats to raise his spring average to .417. Box score
Padres 6, Reds 2
Padres No. 4 prospect Francisco Mejía bashed a go-ahead grand slam, his third homer of the spring, in the seventh inning. MLB.com's No. 26 overall prospect is batting .455 with nine RBIs and a 1.500 OPS in nine Cactus League games. Box score
White Sox 12, Rangers 2
White Sox prospects Ryan Burr (No. 30), Caleb Frare (No. 25) and Zach Thompson (No. 24) each tossed an inning of hitless relief. Box score
Dodgers 2, Mariners 0
Dodgers No. 2 prospect Keibert Ruiz singled in his lone at-bat, while Mariners No. 9 prospect Erik Swanson yielded two runs on two hits -- both solo homers by Kike Hernandez -- with four strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings. Box score
Cubs 8, Giants 0
Cubs No. 11 prospect Zack Short tripled and scored a run, while 20th-ranked Trent Giambrone delivered an RBI single in the second inning. Box score
D-backs (ss) 13, Royals 5
Pavin Smith, Arizona's No. 17 prospect, delivered an RBI single in the eighth inning in his first at-bat of the spring, while 20th-ranked Marcus Wilson scored one run and plated another by flying into a forceout in the seventh. Royals No. 19 prospect Meibrys Viloria homered and scored twice on a two-hit day. Box score
Brewers (ss) 5, Angels (ss) 1
Brewers No. 2 prospect Corey Ray doubled and scored a run, while 29th-ranked Tyrone Taylor had a hit in three at-bats. Marcos Diplan, Milwaukee's 17th-ranked prospect, walked three and gave up a run on one hit while recording two outs. Box score
Offseason MiLB include
Yankees 6, Orioles 1
Yankees No. 3 prospect Albert Abreu worked around three walks and a pair of hits over 1 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out one. Orioles No. 13 prospect Jean Carlos Encarnacion registered his first hit of the spring, a single in the eighth. Box score
Marlins 2, Nationals 1
Nats No. 2 prospect Carter Kieboom bashed his first Grapefruit League homer in the ninth inning. MLB.com's No. 25 overall prospect is batting .313 (5-for-16) with four RBIs and a 1.054 OPS in his second big league camp. Box score
Rockies 5, D-backs 1
Rockies No. 2 prospect Colton Welker and third-ranked Garrett Hampson both recorded a pair of hits, while No. 27 Roberto Ramos blasted a two-run homer on a two-hit night in his spring debut. Peter Lambert, Colorado's fourth-ranked prospect, yielded a run on a hit and a walk with three strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings and No. 20 Jesus Tinoco fanned the only batter he faced. D-backs No. 4 prospect Daulton Varsho singled and scored a run, but 10th-ranked Taylor Clarke was tagged for two runs on five hits with three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings. No. 14 Yoan López allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in one frame and 30 Kevin Ginkel yielded a hit in a scoreless inning. Box score