Photo: Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a two run home run during the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on August 8, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
A lot of expectations have been placed upon rookie outfielder Jackson Chourio this season.
After all, to Milwaukee Brewers fans, he’s supposed to be the second coming of Robin Yount or Paul Molitor, a top offense producer who won’t hurt you in the field.
The native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, went 12-for-28 this week, scoring seven runs and driving in five more over six games to earn World Baseball Network’s International MLB Player of the Week honors.
Chourio had five multi-hit games, too, getting two hits August 3 and 4 at Washington and again on August 5 at Atlanta, along with three-hit performances August 6 and 7 at Atlanta.
His best showing of the week came in the rubber game against the Braves, where he went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBIS, as the Brewers won 16-7.
So far, Chourio has played 102 games this season, and is batting .274/.321/.437 with 14 homers and 50 RBIs, helping the Brewers to a 66-49 record, good for the top spot in the National League Central.
Over the past three winters, Chourio has played for his hometown team, the Aguilas del Zulia of the Liga Venezolana Beisbol Profesional. He’s shown steady improvement over each of the last three winter ball seasons and posted his best numbers thus far last winter, batting .379/.453/.530 with a .984 OPS in 17 games, with 25 hits, a homer, and six RBIs. Zulia finished 25-32 last season, good for a berth in the LVBP quarterfinals.
Chourio will face stiff competition for the NL Rookie of the Year Award, as San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill and Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch also having great inaugural campaigns. But hey, Robin Yount batted .250/.276/.342 as a rookie in 1974, earning exactly zero votes for the American League Rookie of the Year. He went on to win two AL MVP Awards and become a first-ballot hall of famer.
There’s plenty of time left for Chourio to keep building his resume, and one award won’t make or break his career.
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