Jackson Chourio was hitting .207 as a rookie. Then this happened..

Two months into his rookie season, Jackson Chourio was hitting .207.

That was through June 1, 2024: a .251 on-base and a .323 slug. That's the kind of line where people start asking whether the $82 million kid needs a trip to Triple-A.

The Brewers didn't send him down. From June 2 on, he hit .305 with an .888 OPS over 97 games.

On September 12 at Oracle Park, he hit his 20th home run. He'd already stolen his 20th base, which made him the youngest player in MLB history with a 20-homer, 20-steal season. He hadn't turned 21 yet. He finished at .275 with 21 homers and 22 steals, third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Paul Skenes and Jackson Merrill.

Then came his first October. In Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the Mets, the Brewers were facing elimination. Chourio led off the first with a home run. In the eighth, down a run, he led off again and tied it with another one. That made him the first Brewer ever with two homers in a postseason game, and only Andruw Jones had done it younger.

Milwaukee won that game. Game 3 ended on Pete Alonso's three-run homer in the ninth. Chourio still hit .455 in the series, 5-for-11 at 20 years old.

He was just getting started. Two Octobers later, he's in the World Series.

Full story on YouTube. Link in bio.