Keston Hiura is taking his return to the big leagues one toe-tap at a time

Be where your feet are.

For a minor league baseball player whose goals are to be somewhere else — the Major Leagues, in this case — that mantra is sometimes easier said than done.

“You don’t play the game for Player of the Weeks, you play the game to be in the Major Leagues,” said Albuquerque Isotopes infielder Keston Hiura, the reigning Pacific Coast League Player of the Week who has played in the big leagues with three teams, and has every intention of doing so again.

“That’s always the goal — to be get back there.”

But that doesn’t mean Hiura, a 29-year-old former first round draft pick (2017) and one-time No. 1 overall prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, isn’t 100% committed to making sure his feet are firmly planted on the ground in Albuquerque.

Just not literally.

You see, Hiura’s star shined brightest as a young hitter utilizing a highly unusual setup to an otherwise picturesque swing. As the pitcher’s delivery began, Hiura’s setup included an exaggerated toe tap — more of a pick up and stop, really — before unleashing a very high leg kick.

“It was a lot,” Hiura said earlier this week with a smile, fondly reminiscing. “And it was sort of a ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ sort of thing.”

It wasn’t textbook to most hitting coaches by any means, but it helped Hiura’s timing, and how could anyone argue with that. He slashed .375/.466/.581 in 165 college games at UC Irvine, made the U.S. National team in college and became the No. 9 overall pick of the 2017 draft by the Brewers.

By 2019, “Kestdaddy” made his Major League debut with the Brewers, hitting .303 in 84 games as a rookie.

Then, things began to change.

As the book on him grew more detailed for opposing pitchers, that toe tap/leg kick became a liability.

“Once the game kind of changed a little bit, pitchers were coming quicker to the plate, throwing harder, messing with my timing — I just kind of had to simplify things,” said Hiura.

Since 2022, he’s had runs of no toe tap, no leg kick. Just a toe tap. Just a leg kick.

Then late last year and throughout this year, Hiura’s attempts to rid himself of the habit turned into reviving the tap and leg kick, just in a much tamer manner.

“I’ve kind of toned things down,” he said. “I’ve tried a few different things here and there, but with the toe tap (back), it feels comfortable. It feels like it allows me to get my timing down and get into the right position to swing.”

The results, at least with the Isotopes (he did play eight games with the Colorado Rockies earlier this season with minimal impact) can’t be denied.

Hiura is hitting .264 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI with the Isotopes — numbers that have been on the rise since some early season struggles.

His PCL Player of the Week stats included hitting .409 and leading the league in total bases (23), slugging (1.045), OPS (1.546) and home runs (3).

“I feel great,” Hiura said. “The timing is there. I think you want to be on time for the fast ball. Once you’re on time with the fastball, you can adjust to off speed pitches. And you know, that’s always the goal.”