APPLETON, Wis. — As these things go, we’re looking for a comparison.
And it took no time for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers manager Joe Ayrault to nail down an answer.
“He reminds me of a guy who came up in the Braves system, Andruw Jones,’’ said Aryault of 18-year-old Jackson Chourio, the Milwaukee Brewers’ top prospect. “He rocketed through our system with the Braves. He was up in the World Series when he was 19 years old. So seeing a guy like Andruw Jones, very similar watching a kid that’s 18 years old doing what he’s doing.”
So there’s something to whet your appetite.
It’s been 28 years since this city has stood on its toes to get a glimpse of the new kid in town. In 1994, that kid was Alex Rodriguez, who began the year with the Appleton Foxes — the class-A club of the Seattle Mariners — played 65 games before he was promoted and finished that season with the parent club.
No one knows what Chourio’s trajectory will be. But putting his name in the lineup card in the two games since he arrived at Fox Cities Stadium earlier this week has been good business for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and great affirmation for the Milwaukee Brewers.
In nine plate appearances, Chourio has four hits (.444 average) with a double and a RBI for the high class-A team. This after tearing up A ball with the Carolina Mudcats, hitting .324 with 12 homers and 47 RBI in 62 games.
In his Rattlers’ debut Tuesday, 4,685 fans showed up, and 3,286 more came the next afternoon. Before Chourio’s arrival the team was averaging 2,894 fans a home game, and fans were already lining up outside before they opened the gates Thursday.
“He’s a good one,’’ said Aryault of the outfielder, who is the youngest player in high class-A baseball by nine months. “Glad he’s on our team. Seeing him in spring training, we knew we had something special.
“For him to come in here, second day, he’s got four hits already, made some good plays on defense, showed his wheels off on the bases. But great kid, very mature for his age. He’s going to be a good one.”
Chourio, ranked as the 20th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America, was signed by the Brewers during the international signing period in January of 2021 when he was just 16. He grew up in Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest city and home to over two dozen major leaguers, most notably Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio.
But none of those players were ever his idol. That distinction belongs to his father.
“He says since he’s been little, it’s been huge for him to go to the field to watch his dad play,’’ Chourio said through his interpreter, teammate Abert Cipion. “Or go play softball with him, and his dad always made the time for him to do something after, just throw some balls or whatever the case may be. So it was really a pretty good experience for him.’’
Chourio is considered to have the skills to be a five-tool player. But when asked how he would describe his abilities, he smiled and said, “Good question.”
But then he began to rattle off those skills.
“Says he really good hitter,’’ Chourio said through his translator Cipion. “He runs a lot and plays good defense.”
But then Chourio quickly turned and looked at Cipion. “And power,’’ he told him.
“And a lot of power,’’ said Cipion.
Ayrault said the Brewers’ plan with Chourio is simple. Keep him healthy and, if he’s feeling good, put him in centerfield every day. Ayrault said he may put him at DH once a week, but other than that, he believes he’s good to go.
“Just go out there and have fun,” said Aryault. “Do your thing. You don’t have to do anything extra. He moved up a level. We joked around. I told him the mound is 60 feet, six inches to home plate here in Wisconsin in the Midwest League. When you get to the big leagues, it’s going to be the same way. Just go out there, have fun, play your game and if we see stuff as coaches, we’ll talk about it; teachable moments. But his instincts are off the charts.’’
Story idea? You can reach Mike Woods at 920-246-6321 or at: michael.t.woods1@charter.com