Monday, December 15

MILWAUKEE -- Jackson Chourio’s Major League career began last season with a four-pitch walk. 

In 2025, he didn’t take a walk until the third full week of the regular season, in his 78th plate appearance. He then doubled his total with walk No. 2 on Friday night against the A's while pushing past 90 plate appearances for the season.

Does it matter? Brewers coaches and front office gurus have been kicking that question around. 

Chourio is producing, after all. He went into Friday’s games ranked sixth in MLB with 45 total bases, nine shy of the MLB-leading Aaron Judge and one ahead of Shohei Ohtani. Chourio was tied for fifth in the league in extra-base hits, led the Brewers with five home runs and 17 RBIs and trailed only Sal Frelick with an .803 OPS. 

So, what’s the big deal if he had a higher batting average than on-base percentage until Tigers starter Jack Flaherty walked him on four pitches on Tuesday night?

Brewers manager Pat Murphy was in the “concerned” camp before Chourio took that walk this week. Here’s some of the reasons why: Chourio’s 41.5 percent chase rate going into Friday’s games put him in the fourth percentile in MLB, according to Statcast, and his 1.2 percent walk rate was in the second percentile. Over the course of a long regular season, that can be troubling. 

“He’s got to be willing to walk,” Murphy said. “You have to be willing to win the pitch. He’s so talented, he can put so many balls in play. But over time, if you’re facing [crafty pitchers like] Jose Quintana, he’s going to say, ‘I’m going to scoot it over a little bit.’ There’s no batting title with no walks. There’s no All-Star with no walks.”

There are always exceptions, of course. Luis Arráez won last year’s NL batting title with 24 walks in 672 plate appearances with the Marlins and Padres, and that walk rate (3.6 percent) wasn’t even the lowest for a batting champion. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Tim Anderson (2.9 percent walk rate in 2019) and the aptly-named Hal Chase (3.3 percent in 1916) won league batting titles with the lowest walk rates on record.

And then there’s A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson, who went into this weekend’s series against the Brewers batting .338 with zero walks in 71 plate appearances.  

But generally speaking, Murphy’s point stood. 

“The league will find it. Your weaknesses are like an Easter egg hunt,” Murphy said. “You know what I mean?”

Let’s pretend we don’t. 

“Nobody ever goes to the Easter egg hunt and doesn’t find all the eggs, do they?” Murphy said. 

Brandon Woodruff allowed three runs and six hits over four innings for High-A Wisconsin on Friday while throwing 68 pitches in the latest step of his comeback from right shoulder surgery. A few hours later in Charlotte, Tobias Myers pitched five scoreless innings for Triple-A Nashville in his own rehab start as he works back from a strained left oblique. 

The Brewers have their fingers crossed for continued progress for both right-handers, but they expect to see Myers much sooner than Woodruff. In fact, barring a setback on Friday night, Myers could be headed back to the big leagues to start against the Giants in San Francisco next week. 

Woodruff will continue on a cautious course. He’s expected to stay in the Minors for multiple outings of five-plus innings to ensure he can bounce back. 

“We’re in April, guys. Remember,” Murphy said. “As bad as we’re banged up and as many injuries as we have on the pitching staff -- I look at it every day -- we still can’t rush him back just because we have a need.”

Woodruff sounded a similar refrain in a chat with reporters after Friday’s outing: Health is still the most important takeaway from these outings. 

“When you have any type of surgery, especially shoulder surgery, typically the last thing that comes for guys is the command of the baseball,” Woodruff said. “It doesn’t matter what level you’re at, especially right now for me until the velocity comes back, that’s what I’m going to have to lock in on is the command. 

“Body feels good. Shoulder felt good. Everything felt good today, so I checked that box. These are all the little things I’m trying to re-learn.”

Who is the Brewers’ all-time leader in home runs against the A’s, who are visiting American Family Field this weekend?

A. Cecil Cooper

B. Gorman Thomas

C. Greg Vaughn

D. Robin Yount

Registration opened on Friday for Brewers Community Foundation’s 27th annual Famous Racing Sausages Run/Walk on Saturday, July 19, at 8 a.m. CT, featuring 5K and 10K routes along with a virtual option for fans who want to participate from afar. 

Besides supporting BCF, Fisher House Wisconsin and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, participants will get a chance to run the American Family Field’s warning track with the Brewers’ iconic mascots.
 
Registration comes with a commemorative T-shirt and voucher valid for a Terrace Reserved ticket to a select 2025 Brewers regular-season home game. Participants can also opt to pay an additional $10 for an Official Famous Racing Sausages Finisher Medal. Complimentary food and beverages will be served at a tailgate party following the event.
 
Just like the race itself, speed matters. Registration for the 5K and virtual events costs $35 per person, and the 10K costs $40 per person, from now through April 30. After that, the rates begin to go up. 

Fans will also be asked to set up a fundraising page or make a one-time contribution to support Fisher House Wisconsin or the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, which provides a home away from home for veterans and military families while their loved one receives care. BCF has contributed more than $395,000 to Fisher House Wisconsin since its inception.
 
For all of the details about this year’s Famous Racing Sausages Run/Walk, visit brewers.com/5K.

C. Vaughn hit 22 home runs against the A’s, six more than runner-up Yount’s 16. Vaughn did that damage in 70 games compared to Yount’s 210 thanks to a .272/.395/.609 slash line from 1989-96. 

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