When the Baltimore Orioles decided to finally promote the best prospect in the majors, to the show, it sent the baseball world into a frenzy. Jackson Holliday seemed to have earned it sooner, but it’s better late than never, right?
It appears that the 20-year-old should have gained a little more experience in the minor leagues. Before being sent back down to Triple-A, he had only two hits in his 34 at-bats and 18 strikeouts in his 36 plate appearances. Holliday wasn’t ready, so it was essential to send him back down, but boy, did that take a punch to the gut.
The Milwaukee Brewers, who had Jackson Chourio as their top prospect going into the season, were faced with a somewhat similar situation. Chourio signed an agreement with the Brewers prior to their Opening Day roster, but like Holliday, he has struggled in the majors until making a breakthrough in their most recent game on Sunday.
In Milwaukee’s victory over the Chicago White Sox, Chourio had two hits in four at-bats, including this three-run home slam that gave the Brewers an advantage they would not let up.
Chourio hit his sixth home run of the season, and it was just when he needed it most. As Patrick Fitzgerald of Pitcher List notes, Chourio has been struggling lately following a strong start to his MLB career. He hadn’t homered since May 15 after going yard on Sunday.
He cut his way into the action on Sunday.207/.251/.323 with 16 RBI and five home homers. He was doing almost nothing at the dish, but he had proven valuable in the field and on the base paths. Like the Orioles with Holliday, the Brewers are not a team that can reasonably wait out the entire season for Chourio to possibly turn things around, especially since they are competing for the NL Central division. Already, they were limiting his opportunities to bat against right-handed pitchers.
No, Chourio doesn’t appear to be as lost as Holliday was throughout his tenure. Though he has struck out just 27.8% of the time in his first season, his strikeout rate isn’t as high as Holliday’s. Despite getting the opportunity to play practically every day, he had only reached base 25.1% of the time prior to his huge day on Sunday.
He hasn’t performed well enough to be given regular opportunities to bat. Chourio’s impressive performance prevents them from considering demoting him to the minor leagues. The Brewers are hoping that kind of play will lead to his first significant hot streak. The squad gains some time thanks to his home run, but they are still not out of the woods.
