Spencer Torkelson’s demotion may have ended up working out well for Keston Hiura.
Hiura, who lost his job as starting first baseman and was released from Triple-A Toledo after Torkelson was demoted, was promoted to the big leagues on Friday by the Los Angeles Angels.
Hiura signed a minor-league deal with the Angels on June 12, a few days after being released by the Tigers.
Hiura went 1-for-3 with a single on Friday, his first game in the big leagues since 2022.
Hiura, 27, signed with the Tigers at the start of spring training after spending his entire career in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
He was drafted in the first round (9th overall) out of UC-Irvine in 2017 and was a consensus top-20 prospect going into the 2019 season. He had an impressive rookie campaign, hitting 19 home runs in 348 plate appearances, but has struggled to reach the same heights in subsequent seasons. He spent most of 2023 at the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville.
Hiura had a strong spring, going 10-for-31 with two home runs, and got off to a nice start in Toledo. But his offense came back to earth in May and he was hitting just .232 with a .713 OPS at the time of his release. He had 10 doubles and six homers in 199 plate appearances.
Torkelson is hitting .245 (.752 OPS) with five doubles and four home runs in 124 plate appearances with the Mud Hens. He has 15 walks and 38 strikeouts.