Is this the year for Jackson Chourio?
That is one of the top questions facing the Milwaukee Brewers as they enter 2026, knowing that even though their offensive identity is predicated on keeping the ball in play and using their speed, they do need some slugging.
And Chourio presents as much upside in that realm as anyone on the roster.
Through his first two seasons, Chourio has shown ample glimpses of that upside, hitting .272 and slugging .463. He’s one of 29 players since 1901 to bop at least 40 homers, and he’s in even more prestigious company when you account for his speed and power combination. Only seven players have hit 40 homers and stolen 40 bases before the end of their age-21 season – Mike Trout, Vada Pinson, Ronald Acuña Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr, Andruw Jones and Chourio.
That’s lofty company for Chourio to keep through two seasons, but for him to remain in it moving forward, he will need to take his play to another level, as well.
How can he get there? Let’s dig into that as part of our four observations on the Brewers left field picture.
Jackson Chourio needs to avoid another slow start
It wasn’t quite as drastic as 2024 when his OPS sat at .582 on June 1, but Chourio entered the final day of May last season with a .691 OPS (and .272 OBP).
From that point until he injured his hamstring on Aug. 31, Chourio was on a tear, batting .332 with a .943 OPS and mashing 10 homers across 51 games. Even with the injury, Chourio finished as the youngest player to ever record two 20-homer, 20-steal seasons, but the slow start made it feel like he left more production on the table.
Unsurprisingly, so much of Chourio’s success is directly tied to how much he’s chasing. In March/April, he swung at more than 40% of pitches outside the strike zone. In May, his worst month, that number was 36%, still way above league average.
In his best month last year, July, he got his chase rate down to a season-best 29%.
As the Brewers seek a leap from Chourio in Year 3, it will be paramount that the soon-to-be 22-year old begins the season with a firm plan at the plate.
Where does Chourio need to improve defensively?
Through two seasons, Chourio is still something of an enigma on defense.
The numbers on the whole – 8 outs above average in his career – are quite solid, especially for a player of his age.
The road to get there, though, has been filled with potholes and peaks.
Chourio’s highlight-reel plays, often wide-ranging sprints into the gaps but also his home run robbery last May while running full speed into left-center, are as impressive as anyone’s on the team. He’s about as athletic as they come, so when he gets a good read and plays with no trepidation, the upside is apparent.
Yet trepidation is exactly what marks most of Chourio’s misplays. There are times where it seems that he pulls up early on a ball hit in front of him or is a bit clunky with his footwork at or near the wall, leading to mistimed jumps or balls eluding his glove.
For Chourio to take the next step as a fielder, it isn’t so much about making the high-grade plays, because he already makes plenty of those. Great defenders all make the average and routine plays with ease, time and time again. That’s what Chourio will have to do.
Christian Yelich is not likely to see much outfield time
Christian Yelich is still listed on the Brewers roster officially as an outfielder, but don’t expect to see him with a glove on his hand all that much in 2026.
In August, when Chourio was out, Yelich played left field seven times; before that he played in the field seven times from April 25-July 31. Once Chourio returned in late August, Yelich didn’t pick up a glove the rest of the season.
With seven other outfielders on the 40-man, including free agent signing Akil Baddoo, Yelich figures to play even fewer games in the field than his 19 a year ago. Given he was worth minus-3 outs above average in only 153 innings, that would make the most sense for the defense-focused Brewers.
Projections are surprisingly low on Christian Yelich
Two of the most widely-known public projection systems are both prognosticating a downturn in production from Yelich.
ZiPS, which is hosted on FanGraphs, pegs Yelich for a .254/.341/.404 slash line (average, OBP, slugging percentage) and an OPS of .745 that would be 50 points lower than he produced in 2025.
And that’s the high number of the two.
Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projections have Yelich slashing .241/.328/.389 for a .717 OPS that would be the lowest of his career by a healthy margin. PECOTA also has Yelich hitting 17 homers after slugging 29 a year ago.
It’s safe to say that level of production from Yelich would greatly harm the Brewers’ chances of winning a fourth straight division title.
It would also be equally safe to say that you won’t find anyone inside the Brewers facility in Phoenix that doesn’t expect much more than that from Yelich, who turned 34 in December but has an .826 OPS over his last three years.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Is this the year Jackson Chourio makes a leap into superstardom?
Reporting by Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
