Honey Nut Chourios
Jackson Chourio (MIL): 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB.
There’s a lot of pressure being a leadoff hitter. You set the pace for your entire team. Now add being one of the most heralded prospects in baseball on top of that AND the weight of signing an $82 million deal before you even step foot into an MLB batter’s box. That’s exactly what Jackson Chourio has dealt with this year, and he seems pretty much unfazed.
Chourio had the best game of his young career against the Padres last night, showing off his power and speed by compiling a 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB line. He notched both his hits against Joe Musgrove, the big one being a two-run homer in the third inning. Musgrove tried to get Chourio to swing over a low-and-inside changeup, but the pitch stayed up a little too high and Chourio got just enough of it, pulling it barely over the left field wall in Milwaukee.
A true five-tool prospect, Chourio has every weapon of a perennial All-Star. Through 59 plate appearances, the 20-year-old centerfielder is slashing .259/.305/.444 with three home runs and three steals. The early returns on his fielding are pretty incredible Statcast already gives him 2 Fielding Runs, putting him in the 93rd percentile of fielders.
It’s hard to pick nits with a phenom facing the best pitching in the world before he can even legally buy a drink, but there are two areas to watch for growth from Chourio. First, his 27.1% strikeout rate needs to come down and it likely will as he becomes more comfortable at the dish. Second, he isn’t getting to his maximum power yet, posting just a 104.6 maxEV so far.
For now, let’s just appreciate the incredible play we’ve already seen in Chourio’s first 13 games and get excited about how he could grow to become the face of baseball for the next decade-plus. He’s a budding superstar and his presence has electrified the Brewers lineup to be one of the season’s very best through three weeks.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Monday:
Jose Miranda (MIN): 3-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Remember when Miranda made a whole lot of noise as a rookie slashing .268/.325/.426 in 2022? It may be hard to remember after his injury-marred 57 wRC+ last year. Well, Miranda’s back in the Twins’ lineup and hitting .294/.368/.471 after last night’s showing. With both Correa and Lewis on the IL, Miranda could see a fair bit of run and is a name to keep an eye on in deep fantasy leagues.
Miranda wasn’t the only Twin to collect three hits. Ryan Jeffers went 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI raising his wOBA to .389. He packs some punch with his 9.7% barrel rate out of your catcher spot and is available in over 90% of both ESPN and Yahoo! fantasy leagues.
CJ Abrams (WSN): 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.
Abrams broke out with 18 homers and 47 steals last year, but it doesn’t look like he’s content to stop there. After last night’s home run off Tyler Glasnow, he already has four long balls and his 10.8% barrel rate suggests he may legitimately be tapping into more power. Nine of his 16 hits have gone for extra bases, so as you’d guess his .660 SLG and .358 ISO are career bests. Those are outlier numbers and will surely come down, but at this point, it’s not far-fetched to think we could get a 25+ homer, 40+ steal season from Abrams.
Vinnie Pasquantino (KCR): 2-3, 2B, HR, R, RBI, BB.
One of my biggest regrets in the early season is not drafting more Pasquantino shares. I loved him entering 2023 and just didn’t have him enough on my draft board this spring. The 26-year-old first baseman has a 130 wRC+ with three home runs, including the 421-foot blast he hit in the Royals 2-0 win last night. The best part may be Pasquantino’s elite strikeout and walk rates: 9.4% and 12.5% respectively. His 1.17 BB/K ratio is the 10th best in the sport.
Taylor Ward (LAA): 2-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Do you think Ward is healthy again? His six home runs are tied for the third-most in the bigs, so I think it’s safe to assume so. The Angels’ left fielder is one of the early season fantasy MVPs, slashing .313/.333/.612. Ward’s deep-red Baseball Savant page is a thing of beauty. Please stay healthy.
Gunnar Henderson (BAL): 2-4, HR, R, RBI, BB.
Henderson’s impressive day included three batted balls with exit velocities of at least 108 mph. His softest hit ball of the day was a majestic homer to right-center field and his hardest hit ball was a 110 mph ground out. That’s baseball Suzyn.
The Orioles have so many uber-talented young guys, it’s hard to include just one. Jordan Westburg had another nice day at the dish, going 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI in Baltimore’s 7-4 win.
Mitch Haniger (SEA): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
Haniger’s return to Seattle looks like it’s turned back the clock on his performance a good six years or so. He took Frankie Montas deep in the third inning of the Mariner’s 9-3 win last night, raising his wRC+ to 158. His highest full-season mark was 137 way back in 2018. Haniger’s starting every day, so feel free to pick him up and ride out this hot streak while we pray to the baseball gods that Haniger can stay healthy.
Gabriel Arias (CLE): 3-4, 2B, 3B, R, RBI.
Arias and the Guardians took down the Red Sox 6-0 amidst the combined Patriots’ Day and Jackie Robinson Day celebrations in Boston on Monday morning. Arias has only cracked the starting lineup seven times this year, but yesterday was his third straight start making him someone to monitor in 15-teamers or AL-only formats. He’s slashing .308/.333/.577 so he may force rookie-manager Stephen Vogt’s hand in penciling him in as a starter if this hot streak continues.
Michael Busch (CHC): 1-3, HR, R, RBI, 2 BB.
Make that five straight! Busch’s second-inning blast off Merrill Kelly marked his fifth consecutive contest with a home run, becoming just the sixth Cub to ever do so. Coming up as a highly-touted prospect with video game numbers against Triple-A pitching, I’m heavily buying into everything Busch is doing right now and adding him anywhere he’s still available.
Alejandro Kirk (TOR): 2-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB.
It’s been a tough start to the season for Kirk, but things may be turning around with yesterday being his second straight two-hit game. His lash line is at a measly .200/.293/.220, but with Danny Jansen on the IL, Kirk’s still worth a roster spot in two-catcher leagues. In single-catcher leagues, you could move on if your patience is running thin, but it should only be a matter of time until Kirk gets going. His plate discipline numbers are still really good and his .238 BABIP is about 40 points below his career average.
Jackson Merrill (SDP): 3-5, 2 RBI, SB.
Merrill’s flying well under the radar with so many other high-ranking prospects debuting early this year–I mean even I chose Chourio over him as the featured player today–but his performance has been second to none. He has nine hits in his last 17 at-bats and is slashing .356/.433/.441 with a homer and three steals. He’s somehow still available in 40% of Yahoo! leagues and 70% of ESPN leagues. His dual SS and OF eligibility make him pretty valuable, so I’d scoop him up if you can.