Angels sign former Brewers top prospect looking to make comeback

It's worth a shot.

Milwaukee Brewers infielder Keston Huira
Milwaukee Brewers infielder Keston Huira / Mitchell Layton/GettyImages

In a season that's been filled with disappointment, the Los Angeles Angels seem to be kicking the tires on a number of forgotten top prospects and veteran journeymen still hoping to scratch out a career in the big leagues. Last year it was Mickey Moniak, and this season it's been Kevin Pillar.

Every so often, this type of strategy — taking a flier on a highly-thought of player who's failed to meet expectations — works. The Angels are hoping that they've found a diamond in the rough with their latest acquisition, a UC Irvine product.

The Angels signed former Milwaukee Brewers' prospect Keston Huira to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Salt Lake. Huira hasn't been on a major-league field since 2022 and was part of the Detroit Tigers organization earlier this year.

LA Angels sign former Brewers prospect Keston Huira

Huira was at one time the top prospect in the Brewers' farm system. Huira made his major league debut in 2019 and was a force in the middle of Milwaukee's lineup. That season, Huira hit .303/.368/.570 with 19 home runs in just 84 games.

But during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Huira experienced quite a bit of regression. The power was still there, but the infielder's batting average dropped nearly 100 points from the previous season and Huira led the league in strikeouts.

Those swings and misses only continued to pile up and from 2020-2022, Huira hit just .205/.293/.394 with 273 strikeouts in those 200 games played. Huira was designated for assignment last season, went unclaimed, and spent his entire 2023 campaign in the minor leagues.

This season with the Tigers' organization, Huira was hitting .232/.312/.401 in 49 games for the Toledo Mud Hens (the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate) before being signed by the Angels.

LA has relied upon a number of former top prospects this season. And while Moniak's numbers have been dreadful, Jo Adell has rebounded from years of underperformance to put up the best season of his career to date. If Hiura can follow in Adell's footsteps, the Halos will be quite happy with their recent acquisition.

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