Jackson Chourio, who earned two promotions in his first season as a pro, is the Brewers' top minor-leaguer for 2022

In one of the least surprising news developments of the season, centerfielder Jackson Chourio has been named the Milwaukee Brewers' minor-league player of the year for 2022.

Right-hander Carlos Rodríguez, meanwhile, is the organization's minor-league pitcher of the year.

In 99 games split across Class A Carolina, advanced Class A Wisconsin and Class AA Biloxi, Chourio hit .288 with 20 home runs, 75 runs batted in and 16 stolen bases while compiling an OPS of .879 at just 18 years of age.

His campaign – his first full-season experience as a professional – has also led to Chourio becoming one of the top minor-league prospects in baseball. Baseball America ranked him second overall in early August.

"Love him," said Wisconsin manager Joe Ayrault. "Just unfazed by a lot of things. We had autograph seekers coming throughout the year but when he showed up, it was just lines. People were out there waiting at 8 o'clock in the morning.

"Very impressed with him."

Chourio began the season at Carolina and in 62 games hit .324/12/47/.973, ultimately earning a spot in Major League Baseball's Futures Game in July, a showcase for the top young players in the game that precedes the All-Star Game.

He was then promoted to Wisconsin and as the youngest player at the advanced A level he hit .252/8/24/.805. Chourio finished his season with a six-game stint at Biloxi.

How rare was Chourio's performance?

He is just the fifth player since 2006 to hit 20 or more homers in his age-18 season while playing exclusively in full-season leagues, with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton two of the players on that list.

"I saw him take a 100 mph, 3-0 pitch over the left-center field wall," Ayrault recalled. "I'm pro 3-0, and whack! He didn't cheat to get to it. Just short, compact (swing). Then a week later we were getting no-hit in Peoria, guy threw him a first-pitch breaking ball and he takes it out upper level in center.

"It was like, 'What the heck is going on here?' Then he can run, he can throw, he can play defense. He's a good one."

Ayrault was asked, considering Chourio's vast natural talents, what stood out most to him.

"Hit tool," he said. "Every time he came to the plate, he was a threat to do something. No matter what the pitcher had. We had scouting reports on guys. In the same game he hit the homer on 3-0 at 100, there was a reliever on their team that was throwing 99 to 102.

"The day before he asked how hard the guy threw. We told him 102 and he goes, 'I want to hit off that guy.' No fear. After he hits the 3-0 bomb, that guy comes in to pitch and, whack! Base hit off 101, a rocket to left.

"It's just like, wow. At 18, to face premium stuff like that, it was impressive."

Like Chourio, the 20-year-old Rodríguez began the season at Carolina and graduated to Wisconsin in his first full season of professional baseball.

He was actually markedly better at the higher level, finishing 3-1 with a 1.98 earned run average and WHIP of 0.94 in seven starts with 45 strikeouts in 36⅓ innings.

In 26 appearances overall (20 starts), Rodríguez finished 6-5 with a 3.01 ERA and WHIP of 1.06 while striking out 129 in 107⅔ innings.

He also limited opposing batters to a collective .198 average.

Whereas Chourio signed with the Brewers as an international free agent at age 16, Rodríguez was a sixth-round pick out of Florida Southwestern State Junior College in 2021.

A three-pitch pitcher, Rodríguez may be best now with his changeup while sitting between 93 and 94 mph with his fastball. He also throws a slider.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jackson Chourio named Brewers' top minor-league player for 2022