Cincinnati Reds positional preview vs. NL Central: second base

3. Keston Hiura, Milwaukee Brewers

After making his rookie debut on May 14, 2019, a full season of big league ball could get the entire  baseball world talking about Keston Hiura. A former top prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Hiura finally got his chance to showcase his talents last season and did not disappoint.

Keston Hiura has the potential to be the best hitting second baseman in the National League Central. The 23-year-old Hiura will be a force in the Brewers lineup for years to come, but his defense is questionable at best. In just 84 games last season, Hiura led all major league second basemen with 16 errors.

2. Mike Moustakas, Cincinnati Reds

Mike Moustakas has historically been a third baseman throughout his entire major league career. The Cincinnati Reds prized free agent acquisition was signed to a four-year/$64M contract with the idea in mind to play second base. Given Eugenio Suárez’s standing with the team, that’s not surprising. Can Moose make the transition to a full-time second baseman?

That’s the million-dollar question that Reds fans want answers to. Unfortunately, we’re unlikely to find that out until the season begins. The Milwaukee Brewers had plans for Moustakas to play second base last season, but Travis Shaw‘s offensive implosion forced Moose back to third base after just 40 starts at second base.

Moustakas comes in at No. 2 on the list, as his bat does most of the talking. Given that the Cincinnati Reds were comfortable with the services of Scooter Gennett manning second base for the past two seasons, the front office has to feel good about Moustakas who’s been an average defender throughout his career.