Meet Brewers top prospect Jackson Chourio

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE -- “Do you think you’re the best prospect in baseball?”

“Yes, of course,” Jackson Chourio replies with a smile. “Why not?”

That may be the most entertaining and enlightening exchange during the latest installment of the Brewers’ prospect docuseries, this one telling the story of top Milwaukee prospect Chourio, the top-ranked prospect in the sport per Baseball America and No. 2 overall on MLB Pipeline’s updated Top 100.

After earlier episodes focused on Sal Frelick, Joey Wiemer, Brice Turang and Garrett Mitchell, this one visits Chourio and his Double-A teammates in Biloxi, Miss., where, at 19, Chourio was the youngest player on Opening Day in the Southern League. The latest installment is set to drop Tuesday night after the Brewers-Blue Jays game, available on Brewers.com and also the club’s YouTube channel.

“You’re going to get to know me better as a player,” Chourio told reporters last week, with Brewers sideline reporter Sophia Minnaert serving as moderator and translator, “but also as a person off the field.”

His teammates, coaches and Brewers player development executives play a central role in this episode as Chourio opens up about adapting to the Double-A level and his first extended stay at a full-season affiliate in the U.S. Besides developing as a ballplayer, Chourio is learning a new language and culture, and that’s a significant part of his story, said Biloxi manager Mike Guerrero and Brewers vice president and special assistant to the GM in baseball operations Eduardo Brizuela, both of whom are featured prominently in the piece.

Then there’s the hype. Chourio went from outside MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 to the top 10 last year before jumping all the way to No. 2 this year as other prospects graduated.

“So far, I feel pretty calm about it,” Chourio said. “I try to focus every day on going out, playing my game and not worrying too much about that pressure.”

He’s the highest-ranked Brewers prospect in the history of both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.

Has his higher profile changed anything this season compared to last season?

“I do feel like there has been more attention this year, but everything else has been the same,” Chourio said. “It feels good. It feels incredible. I wake up every day happy, grateful. I’m happy I have this opportunity. I like to share it with the people around me. I’m just enjoying it so far.”

Double-A has its rigors, however. Chourio was slashing .208/.275/.319 in his first 80 plate appearances of May before hitting a walk-off, three-run home run to beat Montgomery on Friday, then went 5-for-7 with a double, a home run, three RBIs, two stolen bases and two runs scored on Saturday and Sunday.

He reached Memorial Day with a .734 OPS, seven home runs and 12 stolen bases in his first 42 games this season.

“The jump from High-A to Double-A is actually the biggest jump in baseball,” Guerrero said.

“What makes the jump to Double-A a challenge from the lower levels,” said Chuckie Caufield, the Shuckers’ hitting coach, “is that their tools have been more refined, where they’re able to execute more consistently. That’s the issue a lot of guys have, the game-planning and the adjustment to what people are able to do to them. They’re able to exploit your weaknesses a lot more consistently.”

Chourio acknowledged the challenge.

“It’s definitely a lot harder than it was last year,” he said. “These are pitchers who are a lot better, they know how to work better, too. It’s a better talent level. I’m working hard on my own stuff and working hard to get better every day.”

How does he handle bumps in the road?

“Sometimes things aren’t going that well,” Chourio said. “That’s what’s great about baseball, there’s always another opportunity. When things aren’t going well for me I know there’s going to be an opportunity to turn it around and make it better.”