Frosty Microbrews: Hiura, Lutz, Kirby work their way back at Instructs

Instructional League is the final entry on a very long baseball calendar for many young minor league players. It represents one last opportunity to work on their skills, catch the eye of the coaching staff or, for some, make up for lost time.

This year without question the player drawing the most attention on the Brewers' minor league complex in Phoenix was Keston Hiura, a 2017 Timber Rattler and the #9 overall pick in June's MLB draft. Hiura played 27 games with Wisconsin but just three in the field as he recovered from an elbow injury that limited his ability to throw. Hiura also suffered a hamstring injury on August 15 that caused him to miss most of the season's last few weeks.

At Instructional League, however, the signs of those past concerns are all gone. Hiura participated in drills and played in games at second base, and in so doing erased some of the doubts about his defensive ability. Meanwhile, he also continued to show the offensive capacity that made him one of the draft's most advanced hitters.

"He looks good," Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson said. "He's answering the questions that we had defensively. He looks more comfortable at second base. His feet and his hands work and the throwing progression that we worked on for the last month and a half with Wisconsin seems to be more comfortable for him. He's continued to show each game that he's played here that the bat is a good gift for him."

The volume of coaches and instructors available to work one-on-one with players makes Instructional League a good place for players to try something new or coming back to an old position with a wide array of experts present to help. Entering the last week of camp, Hiura described the experience as "good so far."

"I came here definitely to work on defense a little bit and get a feel for being back at second base and all that stuff. With that in mind, I think it's been really successful these last 3-4 weeks," Hiura said. "I'm really fortunate to learn all these different things from all these different coaches from around the organization. I'm enjoying my time here."

Hiura has still only been in the Brewers' organization for a few months, so these few weeks in the fall also represented his first opportunity to meet some of the minor league coaches and his possible future teammates.

"It's always fun meeting new people," Hiura said. "Everyone has a different background in baseball, it's always interesting to hear about that and the success they've had at the pro level as well. So it's definitely something that a lot of us take for granted, all the resources and minds we have out here to help us improve our game."

Meanwhile, the Brewers' other first round pick in the 2017 draft is also working his way back: Outfielder Tristen Lutz, the 34^th overall selection this year, was at Instructional League under a slightly different schedule as he worked his way back from an oblique strain. He downplayed the severity of the injury and noted that it's the first time he's had oblique issues.

"I just kind of tweaked it. We're just taking extra precautions and making sure I'm 100% for the offseason and come into spring training feeling good," Lutz said.

Even with an oblique injury limiting Lutz's playing time, word traveled fast among the coaching staff about his athleticism and ability.

"Actually I haven't seen him that much because he was hurt a little bit, but I've heard really good things about him. I'm excited to see him," Timber Rattlers hitting coach Hainley Statia said.

Lutz went straight from high school to professional baseball and did not appear to struggle with the transition in 2017, hitting .311 with a .398 on-base percentage and .559 slugging in 40 games split between the Brewers' two rookie-level affiliates, Arizona and Helena.

"Tristen is a high school kid, but very physical. He's got an advanced approach as a hitter for that age," Erickson told the Rattler Radio Podcast last week. "I think he will be tested very well here (with Wisconsin), I'd be shocked if he goes nuts and shows the hitting ability that Keston did this year, but I would see him more in the likes of a (2017 Timber Rattlers catcher Mario) Feliciano that was here. I think Feliciano was very much challenged at this level and had some success but was humbled at times."

For his part, Lutz credited a consistent approach for his success in his first professional season.

"I just stuck to playing baseball the way I know how, playing hard and really just trying to win every game. That's it. I practiced a lot, came in pretty prepared for the season and did my best," Lutz said.

Despite his early success, however, Lutz recognizes opportunities to improve every part of his game going forward.

"I need to work on everything. I need to get better in every aspect of the game and hopefully come back next year bigger, faster, stronger and ready to go," Lutz said.

The shift from any level of amateur baseball to the professional game involves a major change in schedule, which can be a challenge for even a player as successful as Lutz. He said the way he handled that adjustment was his biggest source of pride from this season.

"I'm more proud of just my attitude through the whole season. It was a grind, my first professional season. It's different," Lutz said. "But I was just really proud of my attitude and how I stayed positive throughout everything and just had a lot of fun."

Despite being limited by his oblique, Lutz described his first Instructional League camp as "a blast.

"The same thing as the season: It's a grind but it's an opportunity to get better and meet new guys and just be around other people in the organization that I didn't get a chance to play with," Lutz said.

While Hiura and Lutz work their way back from relatively minor injuries, another former Timber Rattler has experienced a much longer road to recovery. 2015 Timber Rattlers pitcher Nathan Kirby has spent the last two years in Arizona rehabbing from elbow surgery. After a long delay he's finally pitching again and described it as "awesome" to be back on the field.

"I'm not really concerned with the results right now, just getting through the fall, ending on a high note and staying healthy," Kirby said.

At this point the Brewers haven't revealed their long-term plans for Kirby, who said he doesn't know what the future holds right now.

"I don't ask the question, if that's an answer. I just worry about today and I'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow. That's kind of how it's been all year," Kirby said.

Part of the recovery process from a major injury is learning to deal with setbacks, of which Kirby has experienced a great deal. He said being on an uncertain timetable both is and isn't a challenge for him.

"I accepted my situation a while ago," Kirby said. "This year obviously didn't go as planned, and most of the time they don't, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way. It's just something that happened and you've got to move on and come back stronger."

Kirby got some extra inspiration this season in the form of 2014 Timber Rattlers pitcher Taylor Williams. In 2016 the two were roommates as Williams also worked his way back from elbow surgery. In 2017 Williams came back strong and pitched his way up to the big leagues, making his MLB debut in September.

"He's a great person, and I don't know of anyone who's more deserving than he is," Kirby said of Williams.

After a long season Hiura, Lutz and Kirby were all looking forward to the offseason and an opportunity to take a break for a bit. Their vacations won't last long, though, before their minds will start to turn to 2018.

"I'll be home for three weeks and I'll already be thinking about next year," Kirby said.