Monday Mailbag: Jackson Chourio, Brewers Opening Day, free agency

It's the start of a brand new week and we're one week closer to the 2025 Milwaukee Brewers season. That means it's also time for another Monday Brewers Mailbag, where we answer your questions about the Brewers.

Our initial installment last week included a number of questions on free agency, top prospects, and the starting infield. We put out the request for mailbag questions on our Reviewing the Brew twitter account on Sunday and a number of you replied with your questions.

Let's dive in to what you, the readers, want to know.

Monday Brewers Mailbag

Should Chourio bat lead off this year? - @Wisco9270

Last year, Jackson Chourio started in the leadoff spot for 33 games total. That was the spot in the order he was in most frequently and he did a good job there, hitting .277 with 12 doubles, four home runs, and a .774 OPS.

I would imagine we'll see Chourio batting leadoff a number of times once again in 2025, but the Brewers also have a number of other options to bat leadoff. Brice Turang is an excellent leadoff hitter, Sal Frelick could get more chances there, Joey Ortiz is another option. There's no shortage of quality leadoff options for Pat Murphy and if we learned anything about Pat Murphy as a manager last year, it's that the lineup is likely to change quite a bit.

With the absence of Willy Adames in the heart of the order, I wouldn't be surprised to see Chourio more in the 2-3-4 spots in the order this year because of the power he can supply. They need another power threat in there, so I could see Chourio finding more opportunities there. However, when a lefty is on the mound and Turang drops in the order, I could see Chourio batting leadoff, too.

What is your Opening Day lineup prediction? - @262Michael

Ooh I love looking ahead to Opening Day. The Brewers will be taking on the Yankees that day and, assuming health, right hander Gerrit Cole is going to be on the mound for New York. Here's how I'd project the lineup to look for that day right now:

1. Brice Turang - 2B
2. Jackson Chourio - LF
3. Christian Yelich - DH
4. William Contreras - C
5. Garrett Mitchell - CF
6. Rhys Hoskins - 1B
7. Sal Frelick - RF
8. Joey Ortiz - SS
9. Caleb Durbin - 3B

The Brewers would alternate left and right handed batters up and down the lineup in this projection with Turang in his customary leadoff spot against righties. Yelich is likely to see quite a bit of time at DH this year in his recovery from back surgery and the lefty hitting Mitchell gets the start in center in the middle of the order. The young infielders Ortiz and Durbin round out the bottom of the order as on-base threats for the top of the lineup.

Do you think we’ll see any of the big named prospects break into the big leagues this season? - @JB13Bowls

Last week, someone asked about prospects making the Opening Day roster. Names like Caleb Durbin, Tyler Black, Jacob Misiorowski, and Craig Yoho were among the players in that mix. There are others who could debut later on this year.

I think there's a good chance we see Logan Henderson break in this year. Carlos F. Rodriguez could put himself back into the mix and break into the rotation at some point. Corner infielder Mike Boeve could push himself to a second half debut if he continues to play well. Brock Wilken and Ernesto Martinez could also put themselves in consideration for second half promotions if they play well.

Tate Keuhner and KC Hunt could force their way up if they continue to dominate on the pitching side. Also Jeferson Quero could debut late in the year if any sort of injury happens to Contreras or Eric Haase.

Where’s the moves? Baffles me that they’re content standing pat. Young controllable core you’d think they’d build around that. - @drewtaylor30

There were a couple variations of this same question and it's a fair one that most people have. Where are the moves? Very little has been done since the Devin Williams trade in mid-December. A couple of free agent pitchers have signed minimum deals, but that's about it.

However, I'll also argue the Brewers really didn't have a ton of things to do this offseason with such a young, controllable core. The outfield is stacked, catcher is settled, the right side of the infield is settled. They needed to add an infielder to replace Adames and got an MLB ready one in Caleb Durbin already in the Williams trade.

You could argue they can and should still add a veteran at that spot and I wouldn't disagree. I'd like to see a veteran infielder brought in. But also, you have Wilken and Boeve that could be ready for third base as soon as late this year or early next year and there's currently enough MLB options to get them through.

Why get a multi-year solution at third base or shortstop when the reinforcements aren't far behind and you got yourself a potential answer in Durbin at your only lineup hole? The rotation has young arms like Aaron Ashby and DL Hall they need to give innings to for their development, the bullpen has no shortage of strong options. Really, the Brewers haven't needed to do a whole lot this offseason. Their young core just needs to continue to develop and get better instead of bringing in someone to be a roadblock for the young players they want to see.

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