Four of the Brewers' top prospects were in Milwaukee as the team neared a division clinch

As the Milwaukee Brewers took the field aiming to clinch the division title Tuesday at American Family Field, four players who plan on having a role in putting the Brewers in a similar situation next year were on hand to watch.

The four organizational players of the year – outfielder Jackson Chourio, infielder Tyler Black, right-hander Carlos Rodriguez and left-hander Robert Gasser – were honored prior to the Brewers taking on the St. Louis Cardinals with the National League Central title on the line.

“For young players to get a taste of the atmosphere and the taste of what we’re trying to accomplish, we certainly wanted those players to understand that those are the goals here every single year,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “For a lot of them most of them are going to get a shot next year at that.”

Jackson Chourio electrified again this season

The biggest name of the group is Chourio, the 19-year-old who ranks as the No. 2 overall prospect in baseball.

Chourio repeated as Brewers minor league player of the year after winning it last year, delivering a dominant second-half performance at Class AA Biloxi. Over his final 52 games of the year with the Shuckers, Chourio batted .324 with a .939 OPS, 12 home runs, 10 doubles and 20 steals.

“I feel like I’ve improved as a hitter as the year went on,” Chourio said. “The biggest thing was recognizing pitches. As the year went on I started recognizing pitches better and getting better at that and swinging at pitches I wanted to hit. I wanted to make sure Ii finished the second half strong.”

He earned a promotion to Class AAA Nashville in the final week of the season, where he unsurprisingly performed well.

Few had a better view of Chourio's season than Black.

“It’s pretty easy to answer this one,” Black said when asked what he enjoyed most about watching Chourio. “He’s obviously an electric player. Can change the game at any point. I think the biggest thing is he brings a joy coming to the field every day and is a good teammate.”

Tyler Black put himself in contention for a roster spot next spring

Black tore the cover off the ball, batting .284 with a .930 OPS, 18 homers and 55 steals between Biloxi and Nashville, and figures to be in contention for an opening-day roster spot.

Black, 23, split time between third and first base this year, both positions that figure to be up for grabs next spring.

“As many positions as I can play opens up a path,” Black said. “Honestly, it was good. I learned a lot early on. Kinda felt lost a bit at first then the more i played and got comfortable, it felt realy good. The more positions I can play, the more options it opens up.”

Where does Black feel most comfortable?

“I feel best at third,” Black said. “I think I’ve gotten 90 games in over there. Obviously a work in progress every day and learning something new but I feel good over there.”

Of the four players honored, Black and Gasser, both the older ones of the group and the ones with the most AAA experience, are most likely to crack the opening day roster in 2024.

The most-followed storyline, though, figures to be around Chourio.

The phenom figures he has a chance to make the roster coming out of spring training.

“Obviously I think so,” Chourio said. “But no matter what I do I’m going to continue to work hard and improve. Just continue to play hard whether I’m here or in Triple-A.”

Robert Gasser and Carlos Rodriguez shared pitcher of the year honors

Gasser, who came to Milwaukee in the Josh Hader deal at last year’s trade deadline, leads the minor leagues in strikeouts since 2022. He said his biggest area of improvement, though, came in commanding the ball better.

“Early on the walk rates were really high but I think I’ve grown and learned that contact isn’t a bad thing, especially with how small the zone was at AAA with (the automated ball/strike system) and sometimes it’s hard to get in,” Gasser said. “But I felt like I was able to rely on a couple pitches that get me in the zone a lot. Keep growing on that and trying to force contact and get outs quickly and pitch deep into games is the next step for me.”

Gasser was in consideration to join the Brewers staff in the second half as his command took a jump, but it never came.

“Obviously it’s on your mind,” Gasser said. “You’re in Triple-A. There’s nowhere else to go up. For me, it’s, ‘Be ready for when the team needs, not necessarily when I’m ready.’ That’s the main thing. Try to be consistent for a long duration.”

Rodriguez repeated as Brewers minor league pitcher of the year, becoming the second player in franchise history to do so.

The 2021 sixth-round pick out of junior college at Florida SouthWestern State has leapt through the Brewers system. Rodriguez sported a 2.77 ERA in 25 starts at Biloxi this year before a promotion to Nashville for the final week.

He owns claim to the lowest batting average against of any Brewers minor-league pitcher (minimum 120 innings) since at least 2006.

“It’s something special to me knowing I’ve grown into the pitcher that I am,” Rodriguez said of winning consecutive awards. “Knowing that I’ve taken a jump that high, it’s really something special to me.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers 2023 minor league players of the year honored in Milwaukee