How Brewers will fill Jackson Chourio’s absence in the lineup after untimely injury

The good news: The Milwaukee Brewers decimated the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day, cruising to a 14-2 win. Save for a leadoff home run by Chase Meidroth and a meaningless solo shot by Munetaka Murakami in the ninth inning, the Crew's pitching staff was flawless, highlighted by an 11-strikeout outing from Jacob Misiorowski.

The bad news: Mere hours before the game, the team announced that Jackson Chourio would miss multiple weeks, and up to a month, with a fractured left hand. It's yet another injury in a concerningly growing list for the 22-year-old phenom.

The better news: Jake Bauers played very well in Chourio's stead, going 2-for-5 including a towering three-run homer to right field.

More of that will be needed from Bauers, who is expected to be Chourio's primary replacement in left field until the young star is ready to return from injury.

Jake Bauers' Opening Day breakout could not have been better timed for Brewers

Thanks to reports from Brewer Fanatic's Jack Stern and Reviewing the Brew's Owen Jonas, we know that Chourio initially sustained his hand fracture during the World Baseball Classic on March 4. He apparently re-aggravated the injury on a check swing against the Reds in spring training.

This is a tale of precaution; Chourio's estimated timeline to return is anywhere between two and four weeks, depending on how he responds to rest and treatment. It's a really unfortunate turn of events (especially for those of us who forecasted a few notable awards for Chourio in 2026), but the Brewers have more than enough depth to sustain the hit this early in the season.

Bauers will get the majority of starts in left field in the meantime, which will allow Pat Murphy to keep his and Andrew Vaughn's bats in the same lineup on most nights. That's a good thing, seeing as the former rocked Spring Training opposition to the tune of a 1.725 OPS while the latter posted a 169 wRC+ during the same exhibition slate.

Of course, Bauers is known for his streakiness, which could really throw off the rhythm of the lineup if he comes back down to earth at any point in April. Luckily, with both Blake Perkins and Brandon Lockridge around to protect him from tough matchups against lefties, Murphy can mix and match his outfield as he sees fit. Some of that hinges on how Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick perform in the early going, but the Brewers certainly aren't wanting for options in Chourio's absence.