Here's the Brewers' Opening Day roster

The Brewers have finalized their Opening Day roster for 2024 -- highlighted by phenom Jackson Chourio making the team at just 20 years old and 12 Brewers making their first career Opening Day roster.

The club announced the Opening Day roster on Thursday, a day before its regular season opener against the Mets at Citi Field. (The Brewers were scheduled to play Thursday but the game was postponed due to rain in New York.)

The Brewers' roster was mostly set prior to Thursday, but the one question that was answered: No. 22 prospect Oliver Dunn gets the last roster spot in place of Garrett Mitchell, after the disappointing news Monday that the outfielder suffered a fracture in his left hand while taking batting practice over the weekend.

Mitchell was in line to start in center field and potentially bat leadoff for Milwaukee on Opening Day against the Mets at Citi Field. Now, Sal Frelick and Blake Perkins will split time in center, while Chourio plays right. The Brewers had been planning on using Frelick regularly at third base, but with Mitchell on the injured list, Frelick will move back to the outfield.

Here's a breakdown of the Brewers' 2024 Opening Day roster.

Catchers (2): William Contreras, Gary Sánchez
Contreras is one of the best catchers in baseball and coming off a season in which he hit .289 with 17 home runs and 78 RBIs while providing top-tier pitch framing and blocking behind the plate. Sánchez, whom the Brewers signed this offseason to back up Contreras and provide some right-handed power, could also see time at DH against left-handed pitching.

Even with an extra roster spot opening due to Mitchell's injury, Milwaukee was unwilling to carry three catchers, which left Eric Haase as the odd man out from the roster despite a strong Spring Training. Haase was designated for assignment on Thursday.

First baseman (1): Rhys Hoskins
Hoskins found his power stroke in Spring Training, belting four home runs, including homers in back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday. The veteran slugger might have missed all of the 2023 season, but Hoskins looks like he's going to be everything the Brewers are hoping for -- aka, an everyday corner infielder and clubhouse leader with 30-plus home run power.

Second baseman (1): Brice Turang
The Brewers have a lot of young, versatile infielders who can play across the diamond, and Turang is one of them. But second base is the most natural fit for the 24-year-old. It's where Turang played 114 of his 137 games as a rookie in 2023, and where he started both of the Brewers' Wild Card Series games. That's why he was named the 2024 Opening Day starter at second.

Third basemen (2): Joey Ortiz, Oliver Dunn
Frelick can still be an occasional third-base option for Milwaukee. But when he's in the outfield, the Brewers have the slick-fielding Ortiz to play third base. Ortiz should see plenty of playing time, and the clearest path to that playing time is at third, where the 25-year-old might even turn into an everyday player. Dunn, who has yet to make his Major League debut, is expected to get reps at third base as a left-handed-hitting option.

Shortstop (1): Willy Adames
Adames is an elite defender with legitimate pop at one of the sport’s premier positions. He led the Brewers with 24 home runs and 80 RBIs last season, and with +16 Outs Above Average, Adames was the second-best defensive shortstop and tied for sixth-best defender overall. Adames is entrenched as the starting shortstop as long as he’s in Milwaukee.

Outfielders (4): Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Blake Perkins
Chourio, the No. 2 overall prospect in baseball, will make his MLB debut as the Brewers' Opening Day right fielder. He'll be the youngest player in the Major Leagues and the youngest Brewer to debut on Opening Day since Robin Yount in 1974.

Frelick and Perkins should form a capable platoon in center field, with Yelich and Chourio in the corners. The idea is to use the left-handed-hitting Frelick in center against right-handed pitchers and the switch-hitting Perkins against lefties.

DH: Rotating
Sánchez and Jake Bauers would be a natural platoon at DH, with Sánchez taking at-bats against lefties and Bauers against righties. But as they did last year, the Brewers will cycle in plenty of their regulars at DH to keep them fresh in 2024 -- like Yelich on days he's not in the outfield, or Contreras when he's not behind the plate, or Chourio, whose outfield defense is still developing.

Bench/Utility (2): Jake Bauers, Andruw Monasterio
Bauers is a lefty power bat (12 home runs in 84 games for the Yankees last season) who can DH against right-handed pitching, while also spelling Hoskins at first base or maybe even someone like Yelich or Chourio in the corner outfield. Milwaukee will need an extra utility infielder on the bench, too, especially if they plan on moving Ortiz and Turang around the diamond. That's Monasterio, who played 92 games as a rookie last season mainly at third and second.

Starting Pitchers (5): Freddy Peralta, DL Hall, Colin Rea, Joe Ross, Jakob Junis
Peralta is now the ace of the staff with Corbin Burnes in Baltimore and Brandon Woodruff out for the season, and the Brewers' Opening Day starter has his sights set on 200 innings this season. Wade Miley will return to the No. 2 spot in the rotation once he's ready, but the veteran lefty will miss the start of the season due to shoulder soreness. His spot will go to the electric young lefty Hall, who's starting Milwaukee's second game of the season. Rea will start the series finale in New York, and Ross and Junis should round out the season-opening rotation after that.

Relief Pitchers (8): Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps, Abner Uribe, Hoby Milner, Elvis Peguero, Thyago Vieira, Bryan Hudson, Bryse Wilson
Brewers All-Star closer Devin Williams will be shut down for six weeks and could miss roughly three months due to stress fractures in his back, which leaves a big hole at the back of the bullpen. Megill, who posted a 3.63 ERA and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings last season, seems like a good candidate to step into a ninth-inning role, but other Brewers relievers like the electric 23-year-old Uribe, 2023 setup man Payamps or lefty sidewinder Milner will also pitch high-leverage innings. Milwaukee could go with a closer by committee until Williams is back.