Chourio tops Brewers' Organization All-Stars

Each offseason, MiLB.com goes position by position across each organization and honors the players -- regardless of age or prospect status -- who had the best seasons in each farm system. Next up in our 2023 Organization All-Stars series are the Milwaukee Brewers.

2023 organization summary:
Triple-A Nashville: 83-65
Double-A Biloxi: 74-63
High-A Wisconsin: 62-68
Single-A Carolina: 72-55
ACL Brewers: 31-25 (Arizona Complex League champions)
DSL Brewers 1: 25-27
DSL Brewers 2: 22-31
Overall record: 369-334 (7th among MLB organizations)
Midseason Farm System Rankings: 3

Brewers 2023 Organization All-Stars

C: Wes Clarke (MIL No. 29)
AA: .241/.392/.497, 118 G, 26 HR, 80 RBI, 68 R, 89 BB, 6 SB
The 2021 Division I homer king led all Minor League catchers in long balls. He also topped the organization in walks and finished third in slugging and OPS (.889). Clarke stayed hot in the Arizona Fall League, batting .297 with five homers. Defensively, he played more at first base, which is likely his future home if he stays with the Brewers, who also have Gold Glover Jeferson Quero in the system.

1B: Keston Hiura
AAA/ROK: .311/.397/.563, 88 G, 23 HR, 79 RBI, 56 R, 32 BB
The 27-year-old struggled in the Majors since his excellent rookie season in 2019. He cleared waivers in March and played almost the entire season in Nashville. An elbow injury sidelined him for more than a month, but his International League production suggests he can still handle the bat well. He was one of four Minor Leaguers to play in fewer than 90 games and hit at least 23 homers. The 2017 first-rounder became a free agent this offseason.

2B: Dylan O'Rae (MIL No. 18)
ROK/A: .349/.491/.394, 60 G, 23 RBI, 58 R, 57 BB, 44 SB
When he was promoted in August, the 19-year-old led the ACL in on-base percentage (.522) and steals (28) and ranked fourth in batting (.362). He continued to display excellent strike-zone discipline and bat-to-ball skills in the Carolina League. O’Rae’s 1.54 walk-to-strikeout ratio ranked fourth among all Minor Leaguers with at least 250 plate appearances and he was one of only two players in the Minors to steal at least 40 bases in at least 60 games.

3B: Tyler Black (MIL No. 4/MLB No. 51)
AA/AAA: .284/.417/.513, 123 G, 18 HR, 73 RBI, 105 R, 88 BB, 55 SB
Black earned Brewers’ Hitting Prospect of the Year honors in his breakout first full season. He led the system’s full-season qualifiers in steals, OBP, SLG, OPS (.930), wRC+ (145), extra-base hits (55) and triples (12). Black batted .310 with a .942 OPS at Triple-A and was one of only three Minor Leaguers with at least 18 homers, 25 doubles and 55 steals. Brewers’ vice president of player development Cam Castro was impressed with Black’s defensive versatility and ability to add power to his contact-oriented approach.

SS: Jadher Areinamo (MIL No. 20)
A: .306/.333/.407, 103 G, 4 HR, 52 RBI, 52 R, 17 BB, 16 SB
The 19-year-old fell a decimal point shy of winning the Carolina League batting title, while leading the circuit’s qualifiers in doubles (26) and finishing eighth in SLG. Areinamo was also named a league All-Star for the second consecutive season. Although he was signed as a shortstop, he began to see more time away from his natural position this season and committed just eight total errors in 90 games between second and third.

OF: Jackson Chourio (MIL No. 1/MLB No. 2)
AA/AAA: .282/.338/.467, 128 G, 22 HR, 91 RBI, 88 R, 43 BB, 44 SB
Chourio was the fifth teenager to record a 20-40 season in the Minors since 1958. He collected seven hits in 21 at-bats (.333) during a brief six-game stint at Triple-A to end the season, and he’s continued to mash in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he has batted .379 through 17 games. Castro noted that Chourio cut down on his swing-and-miss while increasing his hard-hit ball rate and his focus going forward will be to keep building on the success he's had so far.

OF: Carlos D. Rodriguez
AA: .291/.359/.367, 115 G, 1 HR, 43 RBI, 51 R, 40 BB, 14 SB
The 22-year-old was limited to just 42 games last year, but managed to take a step forward in his first season at Double-A in 2023. Rodriguez ranked fifth among Brewers’ qualifiers in batting and was one of 15 players in the Minors to score more than 50 runs and strike out fewer than 51 times. Rodriguez saw time at all three outfield positions, recording nine assists while committing just four errors in 200 total chances.

OF: Luis Lara (MIL No. 8)
A/A+: .286/.373/.359, 87 G, 2 HR, 29 RBI, 68 R, 44 BB, 30 SB
The 19-year-old made his domestic debut with Carolina in May and finished the season at Wisconsin. He batted .290 with a .728 OPS in 17 games for the Timber Rattlers. The 5-foot-7 switch-hitter posted better numbers from the left side – .307 with a .770 OPS – in more than three times as many plate appearances. In 2022, all 17 of his extra-base hits came against righties, but this season he recorded both of his homers against southpaws.

RHP: Carlos F. Rodriguez (MIL No. 6)
AA/AAA: 9-6, 2.88 ERA, 128⅓ IP, 158 K, 57 BB, .187 BAA, 1.12 WHIP
In March, the 22-year-old pitched for Team Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic. By September, he was wrapping up his second consecutive Brewers’ Pitching Prospect of the Year campaign at the Minors’ highest level. Castro mentioned that Rodriguez added a cutter this season to boost what has become his six-pitch mix. The Southern League Pitcher of the Year led Double-A qualifiers with a 2.77 ERA, 29.5 percent strikeout rate and .181 average-against. His 158 strikeouts ranked third among Brewers’ Minor Leaguers.

LHP: Robert Gasser (MIL No. 5)
AAA: 9-1, 3.79 ERA, 135⅓ IP, 166 K, 50 BB, .236 BAA, 1.28 WHIP
The 24-year-old led the International League in strikeouts while finishing with the second-best ERA and third-best BAA. Gasser had the most wins among qualified Minor League pitchers with one loss or fewer. Castro said Gasser, who also employs a deep mix of pitches, benefitted from a simplified approach this season. The 6-foot, 192-pounder acquired from the Padres in the Josh Hader deal last year has completed more innings than all but seven Minor League pitchers since the start of 2022.

RP: Tanner Shears
A/A+: 4-2, 10 SV, 1.45 ERA, 49 ⅔ IP, 77 K, 42 BB, .153 BAA, 1.37 WHIP
The 24-year-old spent two seasons in the University of Illinois-Chicago bullpen before going undrafted in 2022. He pitched for the Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League and Chicago Dogs of the American Association last year before signing with the Brewers in January. In his first professional season, Shears posted the fifth-best ERA among all full-season hurlers who completed at least 40 innings. His BAA and 13.95 K/9 were the best in the system.