It was a sight for sore eyes when Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn made their on-field debuts for the 2026 season, beginning a rehab assignment at Class AAA Nashville on April 29.
While the veterans may have been the headliner for Milwaukee Brewers fans, a potential Brewers player in the very near future provided the exclamation point.
Chourio walked twice and Vaughn went 1-for-2 with a single with the Sounds, though they were long gone from the game by the time Jett Williams hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth for the 7-4 victory.
Williams, the No. 3 prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline and part of the trade with the New York Mets that brought Brandon Sproat to the Brewers, struggled out of the gate this season but has three homers and 14 RBIs to go with his eight stolen bases. Williams, 22, holds a .661 OPS and has a five-game hitting streak.
The right-handed Williams has played shortstop and center field at Nashville but primarily serves as the team’s third baseman. He’ll be an option in 2026, though the Brewers are in a greater hurry to get Chourio and Vaughn back, with the targeted return date to Milwaukee of May 4 in St. Louis.
Milwaukee has hit just 20 homers in 29 games this season, one ahead of San Francisco for last in Major League Baseball, with just two in the past 13 games. Chourio hit 21 last season and Vaughn nine in his half-season, all in his first six weeks with the team, plus two more in the playoffs.
Chourio had three plate appearances with the Sounds at the top of the order, officially going 0-for-1 with the two walks and a run scored on Jeferson Quero’s RBI double. Vaughn went 1-for-3 with the single, a flyout and groundout.
Cooper Pratt, the Sounds’ regular shortstop, went 2-for-3 with a double, walk, run scored and two stolen bases. He also has a five-game hitting streak, including three multihit games in that stretch.
Chourio and Vaughn will presumably be back in the lineup in the second game of their rehab assignment April 30, with the game starting at 5:35 p.m. CT and Robert Gasser on the mound.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Prospect’s walk-off HR caps Nashville rehab debut for Chourio, Vaughn
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
