During the offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers extended center fielder Jackson Chourio, a top-five prospect in baseball, and gave him the keys to the middle of their outfield.
Chourio is blessed with natural athleticism, power, and speed, but his hit tool might not be ready to succeed against MLB pitching just yet.
This reality has become evident with each passing game.
Chourio is slumping, and his manager is no longer confident in playing him every day.
The numbers don’t lie, and they show a harsh reality for the talented youngster.
“Jackson Chourio over his last 23 games… 68 PA, .175/.224/.238, 2 XBH, 5.9% BB, 29% K,” fantasy analyst Eric Cross tweeted.
Two extra-base hits in 23 games is a very disappointing outcome, as are the .175 batting average and the .238 slugging percentage.
Chourio hit 22 home runs and stole 43 bases in Double-A last year, but played just six games in Triple-A.
Perhaps the Brewers were overly aggressive with their MLB promotion in this specific case, as he looks he could benefit from some Triple-A time to work on his mechanics and rhythm.
For the season as a whole, Chourio is hitting .214/.262/.333 with four home runs and six stolen bases in 36 games.
As you can see, the power-speed combo is there, but it won’t matter if he can’t consistently put the bat on the ball and work some walks.
Hitting in MLB is a lot harder than doing it in the minor leagues as Jackson Holliday, Wyatt Langford, Tyler Black, and Chourio – among others – can attest.
Prospects require patience, but Chourio is looking overmatched at this point.
