Jackson Chourio keeps stacking up numbers that look more like a finished star’s résumé than a 22-year-old’s breakout.
Milwaukee’s young centerpiece has played 115 games and is hitting .292/.349/.493 with an .842 OPS, 23 home runs, 67 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, 41 walks, 27 doubles and 87 runs scored. He also owns a 130 OPS+, which means he’s been 30 percent better than the average big league offensive player. For a player who didn’t make his big league debut until May 4, that’s a ridiculous pace.
The production would be eye-catching even in a full, uninterrupted season. Chourio has already put himself in line for new career highs in WAR (4.4), home runs (23), walks (41), batting average (.292), on-base percentage (.349), slugging percentage (.493), OPS (.842), OPS+ (130) and rOBA (.366). He’s also eight hits shy of a career best, and he’s within striking distance of his highs in runs, doubles, RBIs and stolen bases as the season winds down.
What makes the numbers hit even harder is how much time he lost at the start. If he hadn’t missed over a month to open the year, the stat line could look even louder. Instead, he’s made his biggest impact when the pressure has been highest.
Since Aug. 27, with the Brewers battling for the No. 1 seed in the National League, Chourio has gone off at a .377/.402/.675 clip with a 1.078 OPS, six homers and 17 RBIs. Milwaukee has gone 11-6 over that stretch.
And all of this is happening while he’s still barely out of his teens in baseball terms. Chourio is in his third big league season, yet he’s younger than several of the top rookies in the game, including JJ Wetherholt of the St. Louis Cardinals, Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox, Parker Messick of the Cleveland Guardians, Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox, Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds and Nolan McLean of the New York Mets.
The progression since 2024 has been steady and obvious. If that climb keeps going in 2027, Chourio will have a real shot at the National League Most Valuable Player Award. The Brewers already know they have something special, and they’ll have him for years.
In Other News...
Brewers Bullpen Could Be Getting Help At The Perfect Time
The Brewers are starting to get some help back on the mound at a time when the bullpen could use it. Bryse Wilson and Grant Anderson are both set to begin rehab assignments at Triple-A Nashville this week, giving Milwaukee a chance to evaluate two relievers who were taken out of the mix by injuries earlier this month.
Wilson is scheduled to work about 40 pitches on Tuesday as he continues back from a lower-back issue, while Anderson is lined up to throw one inning on Wednesday after landing on the 15-day injured list with a right biceps injury. For a relief group that has had to absorb absences, the timing matters, and the next step will be seeing how each arm responds before the Brewers decide how quickly to bring them back. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Suddenly Face A Lineup Problem That Could Matter In October
The Brewers identity has long been built on run prevention, but this season the glove work has not looked quite as crisp around the edges. Their Fielding Run Value sits at -1, a step back from the standard they have set in recent years and their worst mark since 2021, even as the club remains strong overall. Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio have helped keep the defense from sliding further, but the picture gets murkier at the corners, where the Brewers have not gotten the same steady value from the group.
Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn have been part of the problem at first base, and that is where the tension begins for a contender trying to stay balanced deep into the summer. Milwaukee can still win plenty of games with its current profile, but the defensive dip raises the kind of lineup question that can linger into October, when every extra out matters and the Brewers may have to decide how much offense they can afford in exchange for cleaner defense. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Are One Night Away From A Division Celebration
The Brewers are putting themselves in position for a division celebration, with one win over the Pirates and one Cubs loss to the Braves enough to lock up the National League Central. Milwaukee already has a playoff spot in hand and still owns the best record in the division and in the National League, so this is less about getting to October than about deciding how soon they can make the next step official.
Jacob Misiorowski gets the start in a game that could carry extra weight beyond the usual September stakes, especially with Milwaukee's magic number down to two. The Brewers do not need everything to break their way on one night, but the combination of their own performance and a result elsewhere has them close enough to feel the pressure building with every inning. [Read more 🡒]