Brewers Reveal Star's Early Struggles: 'He Was About To Fall Off That Cliff'

Luckily, there are mentors aplenty in Milwaukee

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The Milwaukee Brewers have one of the most promising young talents in Major League Baseball on their roster, but his season got off to a terrible start.

There was a lot of negative chatter surrounding 20-year-old Jackson Chourio when he finished the month of May hitting just .215 with 1 home run and a meager 3 RBIs in 23 games played. That chatter was imbued with an added weight given the eight-year, $82 million contract the Brewers gave Chourio in December before the prospect had ever played a single MLB game.

As May came and went, questions surrounded Chourio about whether he was going to be a massive bust.

It’s a situation that would rattle anyone and impact them mentally, not to mention a player as young as Chourio.

Luckily for the phenom, his early struggles brought with them a whole lot of love from his Brewers teammates, who rallied around Chourio emotionally and got him back on track. 

Chourio’s emergence as an explosive hitter in June and July was a result of his teammates’ support, as detailed in a report released Saturday by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. 

“(Chourio) has been surrounded and supported by a quartet that includes (Freddy) Peralta, shortstop Willy Adames, catcher William Contreras and coach Nestor Corredor. Judging by the way Chourio has picked himself up since a rough month of May, their mentorship is making a difference.”

Adames and Peralta were among the Brewers to provide McCalvy insight into Chourio’s early-season blues.

“I felt like he was about to fall off that cliff, but we’re not going to let that happen because we know how that feels,” Adames said, per McCallvy. “I mean, I struggled last 

“He had people around him trying to make him change some things,” Peralta said, per McCalvy. “I remember one of the things I told him is, ‘Forget about everybody.’”

The words of wisdom from Adames, Peralta, and others worked wonders on Chourio, who has led an offensive explosion of late in Milwaukee. The Brewers have arguably been the hottest lineup in baseball since the All-Star break.

Chourio was already on fire by August, having slashed .316/ .363/ .523 in June and July.

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