Jackson Chourio Has Given the Brewers a Third Star

Jackson Chourio is blossoming into a superstar right before our very eyes.

The 20-year-old phenom wasn’t expected to be an essential contributor for the Milwaukee Brewers this season. He was going to be on the big league roster after signing a record-breaking extension this past offseason, but growing pains were to be expected as he got situated in the majors.

His talent and potential were undeniable, however, and it was just a matter of how those tools – and how quickly those tools – would translate to the show.

As it turns out, Chourio only needed a couple of months to adjust to the big leagues. He has now established himself as a foundational piece for the NL Central champions as the Brewers gear up to make a postseason run.

Chourio’s Development

Early on in the season, Chourio looked like a 20-year-old who was getting his first crack at big league pitching. It was clear that he had an enormous amount of talent, but his approach was out of sorts, and he appeared to be far from comfortable in the batter’s box.

And that was to be expected. The 2024 season wasn’t so much about the results for Chourio. Instead, the Brewers paid him and put him on the big league roster so that he could finish whatever development he had remaining at the big league level. Doing so would ensure that he would be ready to lead the charge for this Brewers offense in 2025, and beyond.

What wasn’t expected, however, was the monumental strides Chourio has made at the plate over the course of the season.

Improvements Across The Board

Somewhere along the way, a switch flipped for Chourio. He went from a rookie getting outmatched by big league pitching to one of the most lethal hitters in Milwaukee’s lineup over the course of a couple of months.

It cannot be overstated how difficult that is to do. Not only that, but he did it while his ball club was in first place in their division for the vast majority of the season. It’s one thing to do it for a team that is out of contention with little media attention being drawn to them, but Chourio made these strides for a first-place ball club with World Series aspirations.

His ability to work through that adversity with a team looking to compete speaks volumes to his mental strength. It’s truly a testament to his capability to withstand the pressure to perform in Major League Baseball.

Ever since the calendar flipped to June, Chourio has been an entirely different hitter. It hasn’t just been a slight improvement in one area either, but he’s made significant strides in every aspect of his offensive game. He’s taken his game to a whole new level, and it’s been essential for Milwaukee’s offense.

Chourio has shown much better plate discipline over the past couple of months, and it’s had a tangible impact on his overall offensive production. Not only has he been making better swing decisions, but he’s also generating better swings while being more selective.

Since June 1, he’s cut his whiff rate by nearly five percent, and he’s posted much better contact numbers because of it. His strikeout rate has dropped from a concerning 27.0% prior to June 1, to 18.4% since that date. Likewise, he’s boosted his walk rate (5.7% to 7.5%), and he’s seen a 100 point bump in on-base percentage while hitting over .300 since June 1.

Not only has his improved pitch selection led to better contact rates, but he’s evolved into one of the Brewers top power threats over the past couple months as well.

Chourio’s lightning-quick hands can produce an insane amount of power for a 20-year-old, and that power has been on full display. Since June 1, his Isolated Power more than doubled when compared to his numbers prior to that date, going from .117 to .227. His slugging percentage rose by over 200 points over that stretch as well.

Given the considerable uptick in slugging, it’s no surprise to see Chourio’s quality of contact take a noticeable step forward in recent months.

Since the beginning of June, his average exit velocity is over three miles-per-hour higher, and his hard-hit rate went from 41.9% prior to June 1 to 45.9% since that date. What’s more, he’s seen nearly a three percent boost in barrel rate as well, going from 6.0% to 8.8%.

He’s hitting the ball harder, and he is doing more damage with the balls that he hits into play. From Opening Day to May 31, Chourio was sporting a ground ball rate of 52.5% and a line drive rate of just 13.9%. Since that date, he has cut his ground ball rate by over five percent to 47.0%, and he has boosted his line drive rate to a whopping 23.1%.

Not only has Chourio become one of Milwaukee’s most valuable bats, but he’s evolved into one of their most clutch hitters. In late and close ballgames (as defined by Baseball Savant), Chourio is hitting .310 with an OPS of .927 in 64 plate appearances.

What’s more, in 137 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Chourio is slashing .309/.365/.504 for an .869 OPS to go with a 133 wRC+. With the exception of batting average (where he ranks second), each of those metrics rank third on the Brewers, only behind William Contreras and Willy Adames.

The Brewers weren’t banking on Chourio becoming a bona fide star this early in the process, but he’s established himself as an essential member of this Brewers offense. His ascension played an integral role in Milwaukee winning the division for the second consecutive season, and he’ll be a vital piece of the puzzle if the Brewers wish to make a deep postseason run.

Chourio Gives Milwaukee Their Three-Headed Monster

The Brewers needed somebody to step up when Christian Yelich hit the injured list at the end of July. Later undergoing season-ending back surgery, the Brewers were all of a sudden left without their most valuable hitter at a crucial point in the regular season.

However, Chourio’s performance eased the blow of losing a player like Yelich. His ability to fill the void in the lineup has been essential in keeping this offense afloat as the regular season comes to an end.

For much of the season, Milwaukee’s offense has been lead by the duo of Contreras and Adames. Now, Chourio has firmly entrenched himself as the third piece to Milwaukee’s three-headed monster on offense.

Everybody knows how valuable Contreras is to this offense. He leads the team in fWAR, and he’s been one of, if not their best hitter all season long. Among hitters with a minimum of 350 plate appearances, Contreras leads the team in batting average (.283), on-base percentage (.365), slugging percentage (.470), OPS (.835), wOBA (.360), and wRC+ (132).

Likewise, Adames is putting together the best offensive season of his seven-year career. He leads the team in homers with 32. His 111 RBIs is fourth in all of baseball, trailing only Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and José Ramírez. And he just joined a short list of shortstops to ever have 30 homers, 20 steals, and 100 RBIs in a single season (Bobby Witt Jr., Trevor Story, and Alex Rodriguez were the only three ever to do so previously).

Having a player like Chourio to compliment those two at the top of the lineup has been necessary for Milwaukee. His ability to contribute in so many different ways offensively feeds right into Milwaukee’s new brand of winning games, and he continues to work his way into the history books.

Chourio recently became the youngest player to ever record 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in a single season. Even further, Chourio and Adames became the first pair of teammates in franchise history to each record a 20-20 season in the same year.

Now, as the Brewers prepare to make a postseason run, Chourio will be at the forefront of that offense, and that’s not something many fans could have predicted heading into Opening Day.

It will be fascinating to see how he responds to his first crack at postseason baseball. In what has already been a historic season for Chourio, he will have the opportunity to put an exclamation point on what’s been a phenomenal season for both him and the Milwaukee Brewers when they head into October with the hopes of making a run to the World Series.