Jackson Chourio’s Stardom Is On Full Display

Jackson Chourio 2026 Stats Via Fangraphs

After racking up 0.4 fWAR across his first 20 games of the season, Chourio has accumulated 1.5 fWAR across his most recent 15 games. That is second in MLB over that stretch only behind Pete Crow-Armstrong (2.1).

Chourio launched a two-run homer 431 feet into the stands on May 29, and from there things seemed to shift. From that point forward, there’s been tangible improvements across the board, including everything from his overall impact on the baseball to a much-improved approach at the plate.

Now, quality of contact wasn’t Chourio’s shortcoming in the early goings of the season. Even during his slow start, he was still hitting the ball exceptionally hard when he did make contact.

Overall on the year, Chourio is rocking a 91st-percentile average exit velocity (92.4 mph), an 87th-percentile hard-hit rate (49.1%), and a 94th-perentile barrel rate (16.1%). That’s all culminated in an expected slugging percentage of .525 that is in the 93rd percentile of MLB.

The most obvious change that stands out in recent weeks is his improved swing decisions and overall contact rate.

The chart above highlights Chourio’s rolling whiff rate this season (50 PA). That peak you see on the graph (36%) came on May 27. From that point forward, he has drastically reduced his swing-and-miss, which has directly led to more efficient at-bats.

Chourio has paired his enhanced bat-to-ball numbers with much-improved swing decisions — arguably the biggest hole in his offensive profile.

Ever since he debuted, Chourio has been susceptible to chase. As a rookie in 2024, Chourio had a 31.9% chase rate that was in the 26th percentile of MLB. Last season, that percentage rose to a whopping 37%, which was in the bottom 10 percent of the league.

This season, Chourio failed to take a step forward in that department to start the year, as he was still chasing at a 36.8% clip in May. However, he’s cut that rate by 10% in June. That’s a significant adjustment for a player whose plate discipline can often be is undoing.

To little surprise, these improvements have corresponded with a drastic drop in strikeout percentage over the last handful of weeks. In May, Chourio was sporting a punchout rate near 29%. So far in June, he’s managed to cut that down to just 17.2%.

When he’s not getting himself out at the plate, it puts so much more pressure on opposing arms given how much damage Chourio can do against mistake pitches. When he’s not expending the zone and he’s making more contact, well, it makes him one of the more menacing batters to face in baseball.

What’s more, perhaps Chourio’s hand injury was affecting his power as he returned to action. As we see so often with hitters, injuries to the hand or wrist area can often make for a slow recovery when it comes to impacting the ball.

In May, Chourio’s average bat speed was 74.5 mph — which is still an above-average mark when compared to the rest of the league.

This month, however, he’s raised that number all the way up to 75.7 mph, which is nearly two ticks higher than his average bat speed in May. For a player who does so much of his damage thanks to his bat speed and incredible barrel control, that type of increase is massive.

In fact, his bat speed this month is the fastest bat speed he has ever recorded in a single month throughout his entire MLB career to this point. It’s no surprise to see that it’s coincided with arguably his hottest stretch of his big-league career.

We’ve seen stretches like this from Chourio in the past. We’ve even seen it on the biggest stage in the postseason. When he’s in a groove at the plate and seeing pitches like he is right now, it looks and feels like he can get to any pitch and hit anything out of the park.

That, of course, can lead to an aggressive approach. We’ve seen Chourio get too swing-happy at times, and his susceptibility to chase is often his downfall.

At the same time, his aggression is what makes Chourio such a lethal hitter, as he has the bat speed and barrel coordination to make it work.

Take Chourio’s second homer of Saturday’s matchup against the Phillies, for example. It was the perfect example of just how special a talent he is.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Chourio took a 93-mph cutter from José Alvarado that was a ball inside and hit it 410 feet to straightaway center. Chourio’s bat speed clocked in at 76.3 mph, and his ability to control the barrel and put that kind of swing on a cutter in that location is something few hitters in MLB can do.

I mentioned earlier that Chourio has been a difficult out for any opposing pitcher, and Cristopher Sanchez — arguably the best pitcher in MLB this season — was no exception.

Leading off the bottom of the first inning on Sunday, Chourio turned on a 95-mph sinker from Sanchez that was low and inside, sending it over the fence in nearly the same spot as the home run off Alvarado the day before.

It was Chourio’s fifth homer in as many games and his third homer in a span of just four at-bats dating back to Saturday.

Since Chourio returned to action on May 4, the Brewers are 25-11 — the best record in MLB over that span. Since then, Milwaukee has gone from fourth place in the NL Central at 18-15 to first place in the division and third in the National League standings.

Of course, Chourio isn’t solely responsible for that turnaround, but he is the heart and soul of the Brewers’ offense, and few players in the lineup can match the impact he brings at the plate. Having him producing at the top of the order raises the ceiling of Milwaukee’s offense considerably. That impact has been on full display over the past couple of months.

This recent stretch is a perfect reminder of Chourio’s face-of-the-franchise potential, and it may be the best version of him we’ve seen at the major-league level. The Brewers will hope this is more than just a hot streak and instead the beginning of something special for their budding superstar.