Texas Rangers at Milwaukee Brewers

Missing the first five weeks of the regular season didn’t keep Jackson Chourio from remaining a dues-paying member of the 20-homer club. The 22-year-old Milwaukee outfielder belted his 20th home run of the season to open the scoring in Saturday’s 5-3 Brewers win over the Rangers at American Family Field, securing Chouiro’s third consecutive 20-homer season to begin his promising career. He became the 17th player with at least three seasons of 20 or more home runs by his age-22 season -- and this is a list you *definitely* want to be on. Of the previous 16, eight are in the Hall of Fame: Mel Ott, Ted Williams, Eddie Mathews, Mickey Mantle, Al Kaline, Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda and Ken Griffey Jr. Beyond that, there’s Tony Conigliaro, Bob Horner, Alex Rodriguez, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Carlos Correa and Juan Soto, some of whom may be on their way to Cooperstown. Which makes you wonder, what kind of trajectory could Chourio be on? “He’s still learning the game. Man, he’s special,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “His hands go from ‘A’ to ‘B’ as quick as anybody. It’s bat speed and strength. He’s got a great base underneath him. And the great thing is that he comes in every day with a smile on his face. He doesn’t get too down. He doesn’t critique every swing. Yeah, he’s special.” Chourio and the Brewers have reason to smile, because Saturday’s victory was their 10th in the last 13 games, and it secured a fifth consecutive winning series. At a Major League-best 85-51, they are 3 1/2 games ahead of the American League-leading Rays, four games ahead of the Braves and Dodgers in the overall NL standings and eight games ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central.  That’s the stuff that matters to Chourio, more than any individual milestone. Asked what he believes is the next step in his career, he responded, “The dream is to win. That’s the hope this year, to continue winning and to win it all.”