Brewers’ Chourio and Padres’ Merrill head impressive list of rookies in postseason

AP Sports Writer

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jackson Chourio is looking forward to more champagne-soaked clubhouse celebrations, even if he still isn’t old enough to partake fully.

When the Brewers sealed the NL Central title, the 20-year-old Chourio found a collection of non-alcoholic drinks inside a stroller in front of his locker. The Baltimore Orioles provided a similar setup for their own 20-year-old rookie — Jackson Holliday — for their playoff-clinching celebration by giving him a package featuring bottled water, baby bottles, a child’s jersey and pages of coloring books with drawings of the Orioles mascot.

Chourio had no problem with the gag gift as he savored the festive locker-room atmosphere.

“I hope there’s more to come,” Chourio said through a translator.

The chances of that happening this month depend in part on whether Chourio keeps performing beyond his years. He’s one of the headliners of an impressive class of rookies stepping into the playoff spotlight this week.

This has been a banner season for rookies. The most notable of the bunch — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes — won’t be part of the playoffs. But plenty of other first-year players will be playing big roles in this postseason.

Two of the best happen to share the name Jackson.

Chourio made headlines in the offseason when the Brewers signed him to an eight-year, $82 million contract, the most money ever guaranteed to a non-Japanese player with no major league experience. At the time, Chourio had played only six games above the Double-A level.

He has proved his worth this year by becoming the youngest player ever to complete a season with at least 20 homers and 20 steals. The Brewers are confident he can deal with the pressure of the postseason.

“Chourio will be fine,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I’m confident. This kid’s endured everything. He’s got some guys in the room that have been in the postseason, and they’ll help him through it for sure.”

The San Diego Padres have their own productive rookie in Jackson Merrill, who moved over from shortstop to center field in spring training and has thrived in that role.

“I just saw my name in the lineup one day,” Merrill said. “That was it. They threw me in center field without saying anything, so they obviously trusted me.”

Merrill batted .292 with 24 homers, 90 RBIs and an .826 OPS. He had six game-tying or go-ahead homers in the eighth inning or later, tying him with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson (1956) for the most in a season by a player 21 or younger since 1900.

Here’s a look at some other rookies who bear watching in this postseason.

Luisangel Acuña, New York Mets

The younger brother of injured Atlanta Braves star and 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. got called up in mid-September and performed well in a fill-in role while Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was out with lower back pain. He batted .308 with a .966 OPS, three homers and six RBIs in 14 games. While Lindor is back in the Mets’ starting lineup, Acuña could end up playing a key role off the bench this postseason.

Colton Cowser, Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles selected Cowser out of Sam Houston State with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft. After batting just .115 while playing 26 games in the majors last year, Cowser has been much more productive in a full-time role this season. Cowser batted .242 with a .321 on-base percentage, 24 homers and 69 RBIs in the regular season.

Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith, Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland’s 2.57 bullpen ERA is the lowest for any bullpen since 2013. Gaddis and Smith have played a big role in that success. The hard-throwing right-handers are the seventh- and eighth-inning table setters for All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase. Gaddis went 6-3 with a 1.57 ERA in 78 appearances. Smith was 6-1 with a 1.91 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings. Other rookie relievers who bear watching this postseason include Philadelphia’s Orion Kerkering and Milwaukee’s Jared Koenig.

Luis Gil and Austin Wells, New York Yankees

These guys could form a starting battery for a playoff game. Gil got hit hard in his last two starts but still finished the regular season with a 15-7 record and 3.50 ERA while striking out 171 in 151 2/3 innings. Wells emerged as the Yankees’ No. 1 catcher and played quality defense while hitting .229 with a .322 on-base percentage, 13 homers and 55 RBIs in 115 regular-season games.

Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers

The Tigers signed Keith to a six-year, $28.6 million contract before he had ever played in the majors. Keith had some growing pains early in the year as Detroit’s starting second baseman but eventually settled into the job. He was hitting .154 at the end of April but improved enough the rest of the way to finish the regular season with a .260 average, .309 on-base percentage, 13 homers and 61 RBIs.

Landon Knack and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers

Both of these pitchers could be part of the Dodgers’ postseason rotation. Yamamoto is more proven than the other rookies on this list, as he signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers after a stellar career in Japan. Yamamoto was injured for much of his rookie year but returned in September and finished the regular season with a 7-2 record and 3.00 ERA, striking out 105 in 90 innings. Knack had a 3-5 record and 3.65 ERA in 15 appearances, including 12 starts.

Tobias Myers and Joey Ortiz, Milwaukee Brewers

Chourio isn’t the only rookie who contributed to the Brewers’ NL Central title run. Myers, pitching for his sixth different organization, finally reached the majors this year and went 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 27 games. Ortiz came to Milwaukee as part of the trade that sent 2021 Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles. He emerged as the Brewers’ starting third baseman and played great defense while hitting .239 with a .329 on-base percentage, 11 homers, 60 RBIs and 11 steals.

Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves

Schwellenbach began this season in Single-A but soared up the Braves’ system, got to the majors and solidified Atlanta’s rotation by going 8-7 with a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts. After allowing one run over seven innings in the opening game of Atlanta’s Monday doubleheader with the New York Mets, Schwellenbach might not be able to contribute much in the Braves’ Wild Card Series at San Diego. But if the Braves make a deep postseason run, they’ll be counting on Schwellenbach to keep pitching the way he has lately.

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AP Sports Writers Bernie Wilson and Tom Withers contributed to this report.

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