Grading the Milwaukee Brewers rookies through the first quarter of the 2024 season

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The Milwaukee Brewers have gotten off to a strong start to the 2024 MLB season as they sit atop the NL Central with a record of 26-17, two games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. For a team that lost its manager, Cy Young winning pitcher, and other pieces in the offseason, the young players have stepped up and kept up the winning culture that has developed in Milwaukee in recent years.

They have continued to win games despite the losses in the pitching staff. Six pitchers are currently on the injured list in some regards, with more experienced position players in Rhys Hoskins, Garrett Mitchell, and Joey Wiemer also on the injured list.

The Brewers have the ninth youngest team in baseball with an average age of 28.3 years old. There are many bright spots with veterans showing their experience but the younger players showing why so many of them are highly rated and the bright futures that lie ahead.

Here are the grades for the Milwaukee Brewers' rookies and how their fledgling MLB careers have begun through the first quarter of the 2024 season.

Jackson Chourio

Jackson Chourio has had an intriguing start to the season, with him really starting off strong to begin with but recently has found him finding playing time harder to come by. The center fielder is batting .219/.263/.352 on the year, which aren't outstanding numbers but it is a good start for someone so young into his professional baseball career. His five home runs, 15 RBIs, and six stolen bases are a great sign for what is to come in the future.

In May, his stats are up slightly with him batting .258/.281/.355, picking it up in the final two games of the series with the Pittsburgh Pirates following a hitless run of three games. Chourio made the jump up on Opening Day and as we have seen across the board with rookies this year, it has been difficult for many position players. The top prospect in Jackson Holliday was called up for 10 games before being optioned back to Triple-A for Baltimore, getting just two hits.

There was a four game stretch in which Pat Murphy decided to go without Chourio in the lineup and then coming in to finish the final three of that stretch. Murphy told reporters he wanted to give Chourio a bit of a mental break and let him watch the game and watch the veterans go about at-bats.

Four straight games of starting and completing the game has put Chourio right back in the lineup and so there is no suggestion of him being demoted. He was always going to find it tough this first season but he is getting that experience and learning from it whilst putting up solid numbers.

Overall, it's a strong start to his MLB career and there are signs he can go on to be one of the best players in the majors.

Grade: B+

Robert Gasser

Robert Gasser was acquired as part of the Josh Hader to San Diego Padres trade and as one of the highest rated prospects in the Brewers' organization, he has been off to an electric start in the majors. The injuries to starters has given him the opportunity to take the mound for the Brewers and he is taking advantage of it.

On May 10th, he made his MLB debut against the St. Louis Cardinals in an 11-2 win. Gasser pitched six innings, gave up just two hits, no runs or walks, and struck out four. It really doesn't get much better than that for a starter making his debut in the big leagues.

A second strong outing in the 10-2 win over the Pirates on May 15th saw him pitch five innings, allowing six hits, one earned run and two strikeouts. That means over his first two starts he has a 0.82 ERA, which is phenomenal for anybody, but especially for how young he is and making his first two big league starts.

The road moving forward for him is likely to be a little bit rockier as with all young pitchers. The league will adjust to him at some point but the future is bright and he can be a real cornerstone of the Brewers' rotation going forward.

Grade: A+

Oliver Dunn

Playing time at third base has been a talking point all offseason and so far this season with a number or Brewers players looking to stake their claim to start on the hot corner. Sal Frelick had started to learn the position just to add to the options of Andruw Monasterio and Owen Miller as guys already in the majors, with then Joey Ortiz and Oliver Dunn being traded for and Tyler Black working his way through the minor leagues.

Dunn has seen a fair share of time at third and was on the Opening Day roster following strong outings in Spring Training. Frelick has remained in the outfield due to the injuries out there and so Dunn has been competing with Ortiz as both look to tie down the starting job.

On the season he's batting .226/.278/.333 with one home run and six RBIs in 90 plate appearances. Dunn started the season really strong, dipped slightly but was having a strong May so far, batting .292/.370/.417 in 27 plate appearances across 10 games. Across the board, Ortiz has had a better season with him hitting .277/.384/.511 with four homers and 12 RBIs, so that stakes his claim to start stronger but it is fair to say Dunn has been solid in his start in the majors.

He did really struggle however from April 8th to the end of the month as he only hit at a .132 average which show those difficulties rookie batters can have when they make the step up. The Brewers have optioned Dunn down to Triple-A after that down stretch, but there's been a lot of promise shown.

Grade: B

Tyler Black

Tyler Black is another that had been competing for the spot at third base and his hot start in Triple-A Nashville rightly saw him called up to the Brewers. He was called up on April 30th but was optioned back on May 8th despite a solid outing but it allows him to continue getting everyday at-bats to hone his craft.

In the minors, he is hitting .303/.384/.521 with six home runs and 23 RBIs. As expected he found it tougher in the majors but still put up a respectable .227/.261/.318 as he registered five hits in seven games. Black showed glimpses of what could be the Brewers starting third baseman in the future and he may well be back up to battle for the position later in the season.

Since Black was primarily at first base and DH when he was called up, Christian Yelich's return pushed him back to Nashville. His ability to play first base may be something to be considered with Rhys Hoskins currently on the IL and out for the next 2-4 weeks.

The third ranked prospect in the Brewers organization has a bright future and there is no doubt he will get that opportunity again if he keeps up what he is doing in Nashville. It will become hard to ignore him.

Grade: B

Tobias Myers

Tobias Myers has been called up to the Brewers on two occassions due to the injuries in the starting rotation and his first outings were solid, but he really struggled since and was perhaps victim to those injuries and needing to be called up earlier than ideal.

He was a sixth round pick by the Orioles back in 2016 and has been working through the minors with the Rays, Guardians, Giants and White Sox before being signed to the Brewers in late 2022. In 2023 he finished the year with a 4.93 ERA and 10-5 record across 29 games for Double-A Biloxi. This season, he's pitched five games and lowered that ERA to just 1.45 with an opponent batting average of just .191.

Myers was called up when Wade Miley went to the IL and made his debut against the Pirates in April, where he gave up a home run on his first pitch. He bounced back and gave up just four hits, gave up no further runs and struck out four. Since then he has found it tough, giving up four runs to the Yankees and Cubs and most recently, a run to the Cardinals in a solid outing.

17 strikeouts across 17 innings pitched is respectable but it is tough to avoid the earned runs and his ERA is up at 5.29. There are glimpses of being a solid rotational piece and he can strike out batters, but he just needs to keep the ball in the park.

Grade: C+

Chris Roller

Chris Roller was only called up on May 15th so it is too early to really judge his MLB performance as he has only had one at-bat. However, we can see his production in the minors and in 14 games in Nashville he is hitting .250/.276/.357 which is around average for the duration of his minor league career.

He has yet to hit a home run in 2024 but did hit 15 in 2023 in the minors for the Guardians before he was traded to the Brewers for cash. Roller might not see too much in the way of playing time but if he does, any form of offensive production will add to the Brewers 73 runs scored in the 14 games in May so far.

Grade: N/A

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