Jackson Chourio

Jackson Bryan Chourio

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 165 lb.

Debut March 29, 2024

Born March 11, 2004 in Maracaibo, Zulia Venezuela

Biographical Information[edit]

Jackson Chourio was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers as an international amateur free agent out of Venezuela on January 15, 2021. He was a shortstop as an amateur, but the Brewers moved him to centerfield. He played that season with the DSL Brewers 2, hitting .296/.386/.447 in 45 games, then played winter ball with the Aguilas del Zulia following the season. He was one of the youngest players in the Venezuelan League that year, as he was still 17.

In 2022, he again belied his youth with a great season that got him named the Brewers' Minor League Player of the Year. He started off with the Carolina Mudcats in the Carolina League but proved too good for the level, as he hit .324 in 62 games. He found the next two levels more challenging - not surprisingly given how much younger he was than the average player in those circuits - completing his season with 31 games for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League, for whom he hit .252, and 6 with the Biloxi Shuckers of the AA Southern League. He was in fact the youngest player in all three leagues in which he appeared that year. He was named to play on the National League team at the 2022 Futures Game at Dodger Stadium on July 16th and made the final out of the game against Ken Waldichuk, who would be pitching in the majors by the end of the season. In all, Jackson hit .288/.342/.538 in 99 games, with 30 doubles, 20 homers, 75 runs scored and 75 RBIs. He also stole 16 bases. In spite of playing just half a season there, he was named the MVP of the Carolina League as well as a league All-Star, a Brewers organizational All-Star and the Brewers Minor League Player of the Year. He again played for Zulia after the season.

He started the 2023 season in AA with the Biloxi Shuckers of the Southern League. He was again named to play in the 2023 Futures Game. In 122 games for Biloxi, he hit .280/.336/.467 with 22 homers and 89 RBIs. He received a late-season promotion to the AAA Nashville Sounds, where he hit .333 in 6 games. He repeated as the Brewers Minor League player of the Year, sharing the honor with If Tyler Black. Following the season, the Brewers made it known that they wanted to sign him to an extension that would cover his arbitration years; the largest such contract ever awarded had been to Luis Robert for $50 million, and what was envisaged for Chourio would likely top that by a fair amount. On December 4th, it was announced that he had been signed for eight years at $82 million.

He headed to spring training in 2024 with a chance of earning the starting centerfield job with the Brewers. If he were successful, it would make him only the third player under 21 to start in center field on Opening Day in the last 50 years, although fellow top prospect Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres was vying for the same achievement. The fact that the two shared the same rather rare first name made it even more mind-boggling. Merrill was successful first, starting both games of the Padres' opening series staged in Seoul, South Korea on March 20-21, then on March 22nd, the Brewers announced that Chourio had made the Opening Day roster. His debut was pushed back by a day by a rainout, but on March 29th, he started in right field and hit leadoff for the Brewers against the New York Mets (Blake Perkins was the starter in center). He went 1 for 3 with a walk and scored a run in a 3-1 win; in fact, he led off the game with a walk off José Quintana, then promptly stole second base. He was the fifth youngest player to start on Opening day since 1969, and the second youngest to lead off since 1900, after Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr in 1937. He hit his first career homer on April 3rd off Daniel Duarte of the Minnesota Twins, becoming the youngest Brewers player to homer since Gary Sheffield in 1988; he also had seven hits through his first five games at that point. He managed to hold on to his starting job all year and on August 21st became the youngest player since Juan Soto in 2018 to have a four-hit game, doing so in a 10-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Only three other players had done so at a younger age since the start of the 21st Century: Brycer Harper, Starlin Castro, Rougned Odor and Miguel Cabrera. On September 12th, he became the youngest player to record a 20/20 season when he hit his 20th long ball of the year, having stolen his 20th base a few days earlier. No other player had ever reached the mark before his 21st birthday, as he just beat out Vada Pinson and Mike Trout. He finished the season at .275 in 148 games, with 29 doubles, 21 homers, 80 runs, 79 RBIs and 22 steals; his OPS+ was 117. He was the star of the Brewers' win over the New York Mets in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series on October 2nd. He led off the bottom of the 1st with a game-tying homer off Sean Manaea, then in the bottom of the 8th, did it again, this time off Phil Maton. Milwaukee went on to win the game, 5-3. Chourio was the second player after none other than Babe Ruth to hit two game-tying homers in one postseason game.

His younger brother Jaison Chourio signed his first pro contract with the Cleveland Guardians in January of 2022.

Notable Achievements[edit]

2022 Player of the Year Carolina League Carolina Mudcats
2024 MLB All-Rookie Team
20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2024)

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Jackson Chourio

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