The Milwaukee Brewers currently have a 10-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central standings with 12 games remaining in the season. Suffice to say, the Brewers are well on their way to capturing the division title for the second year in a row despite all the changes the team has gone through over the past year. And one catalyst behind the Brewers' continued dominance over the division has been the play of rookie outfielder Jackson Chourio, the 20-year-old who has given Milwaukee some incredible all-around play.
However, Chourio didn't exactly have the easiest time transitioning to the big-leagues despite all the hype surrounding him as a prospect who signed an eight-year, $82 million deal. The 20-year-old put up an OPS of .582 for the first two months of his big-league career, while having an inordinately high strikeout rate.
Veteran shortstop Willy Adames and the Brewers, at first, felt as though it would be best if they let Chourio take his lumps, as they believed that the youngster will waste no time learning from his mistakes. However, Adames revealed that they soon felt like some words of encouragement would go a long way towards helping Chourio get back on track — which he did and he hasn't looked back since.
“At the beginning, we kind of wanted him to figure it out on his own. Then, when he kept struggling, we said, ‘OK now we have to help him.' We said, ‘Don’t worry. Things are going to be fine. Things are going to be great in September.’ Then, he started to pick it up, got hot, and he hasn’t stopped,” Adames said, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
“Now it’s like, holy smokes. This guy is the real deal. He’s showing the world what type of player he is because I’m sure people were doubting him in the beginning.”
Jackson Chourio delivers on the hype for the Brewers
Not everyone is built to carry the weight of expectations. For a while, it seemed as though Jackson Chourio was going to wilt under the pressure. Even Chourio's Brewers teammates saw how much the early-season struggles weighed on the 20-year-old outfielder.
“When you have a tough start, it’s tough for anybody, especially for him being 20 years old and learning the game in the big leagues for the first time. It was super tough. Obviously, he was very hyped up by everyone,” Adames said.
But Chourio's demeanor in the Brewers clubhouse did not change one bit despite his struggles, as starting pitcher Freddy Peralta revealed.
“We knew he was going to be a superstar, but it was tough for him going through that. You could see he was frustrated, because he wanted to prove why he got paid. But he was the same kid in the clubhouse. He was still cracking jokes,” Peralta added.
Since the calendar flipped to May, Chourio has hit 17 home runs and driven in 64 runs batted in for the Brewers on OPS of .852. He has also been playing good defense both in left and right field, and he has also tallied 20 stolen bases on the year to make him a member of the 20-20 club (he has a total of 21 dingers on the season) in his rookie year. The Brewers definitely have a gem on their hands, and he's locked into the team for the foreseeable future.
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