Jackson Chourio is the name the Padres have to have circled when the National League Division Series opens Saturday.
At just 22, the Brewers left fielder has already put together a profile that plays loud in October: power, speed and a track record of rising to the moment. San Diego can’t treat him like a young player still finding his way. He’s already shown he can change a postseason game in a hurry.
The numbers back that up. In 12 career postseason games, Chourio has hit .341 with a 1.044 OPS, four home runs and 11 RBI. He also closed the regular season by hitting .291/.351/.487 with 25 home runs and 23 stolen bases, and he became the first player in MLB history to post three 20-20 seasons before turning 23.
“Jackson Chourio is the player my eyes are going to be on...”
That was the note from @CY24_7 on MLB Network on October 2, 2026, and it fits the moment. Chourio has already done plenty to justify the attention. He is tied for the most playoff home runs in Brewers franchise history, and his October résumé includes a three-run homer in the 2024 NLDS and a leadoff blast in the 2025 NLCS.
He’s also rolling into this series hot. In September, Chourio hit .337/.389/.531 with five home runs, 18 RBI and nine stolen bases, giving Milwaukee a jolt at the exact right time.
There’s another layer to the threat, too. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Chourio posted a .767 slugging percentage against fastballs over the final two months of the regular season.
That matters because if Padres pitchers get into trouble and fall behind in the count, they may be forced to challenge him in the zone. Against a hitter like Chourio, that can turn dangerous fast.
San Diego has its own momentum after sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the NL Wild Card Series, and the Padres’ bats exploded in that matchup. Both Alex Bregman and Pete Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts and one walk against them.
The challenge only gets sharper in Game 1, where the Padres will also have to deal with Jacob Misiorowski, who led the league with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts.
Whether Chourio and Milwaukee can handle the pressure from Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado and Gavin Sheets will help shape the series, but Chourio is the Brewers hitter San Diego has to track from the first pitch.
In Other News...
Brewers Hold On After Wild Ninth Inning Call Sparks Padres Fury
A bizarre ninth-inning moment at American Family Field became the defining flashpoint of Game 1 of the National League Division Series, when Ty France sent a fly ball high enough to strike a cable on the roof before Jackson Chourio made the catch for the Brewers. The umpires ruled it an out under the ballparks ground rules, deciding the ball had hit over fair territory, and the call immediately turned a tense postseason game into the kind of replay-worthy controversy that tends to linger long after the final pitch.
For Milwaukee, the ruling helped preserve a hard-fought win, but it also left the Padres simmering over how the final inning unfolded. Craig Stammen and Pat Murphy both addressed the play afterward, along with players involved, as the odd sequence became less about the mechanics of a ruling and more about the pressure-cooker reality of October baseball, where a single strange bounce can reshape a whole series opener. [Read more 🡒]
Jacob Misiorowski's Wild NLDS Start Left Brewers Fans With One Concern
Jacob Misiorowskis NLDS debut gave Brewers fans exactly the kind of electricity they have come to expect from the rookie right-hander, and then some. In Game 1 against the Padres, he reached a new velocity peak with a 104.8 mph pitch and kept the fastball coming, piling up 52 pitches at 100 mph or harder while working four innings and striking out six.
For Milwaukee, the appeal is obvious. Misiorowskis stuff can change a series in a hurry, and he left the opener having allowed two runs on four hits and a walk before the Brewers turned to the bullpen with the game still hanging in the balance. The only real question now is how that kind of effort shapes what comes next, because outings like that can be a weapon and a warning at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Willson Contreras Just Changed An Early Brewers Playoff Storyline
The Brewers opened their NL Division Series with a tight 3-2 win over the Padres, and the biggest swing came from a familiar face who had been at the center of a late-season flashpoint. Willson Contreras delivered the go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning after Jackson Chourio had already dragged Milwaukee back into the game with a tying two-run shot earlier, giving the Brewers the kind of timely power they have been chasing as October pressure ramps up.
Contreras performance carries extra weight because manager Pat Murphy benched him late in the regular season over a lack of hustle, a decision that had left his role under the microscope going into the postseason. Instead of letting that become the headline, Contreras answered in the first game that mattered most, giving Milwaukee an early playoff storyline built around response, not resentment, even if the full impact of that turnaround is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]