Brewers Fan Favorite Considered 'Dark Horse' Candidate To Win NL MVP In 2025

The Milwaukee Brewers will enter the 2025 season without former fan favorites Willy Adames and Devin Williams but hope to remain at the top of the National League Central.

Winning the division title for a third consecutive season won't be an easy feat after the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds made significant strides in upgrading their big-league rosters this winter.

Despite losing Adames' powerful bat in the heart of the lineup, the Brewers have a rising star returning for a dominant sophomore season, who will be vital for Milwaukee's threepeat efforts.

"If the Brewers are going to do what they’ve done quite often in recent years -- that is, make the playoffs and win the division despite moving on from key players -- then it just might happen on the back of a kid who doesn’t even turn 21 until Tuesday," MLB.com's Jason Catania wrote Friday morning after suggesting Jackson Chourio as a "dark horse" to win NL MVP this upcoming season.

Chourio batted .275 with 54 extra-base hits including 21 home runs, 79 RBIs and a .791 OPS throughout 148 games played for the Brewers in 2024 -- becoming the youngest player ever to record 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season.

"With Willy Adames having signed with the (San Francisco) Giants and Devin Williams traded to the (New York) Yankees, plus Christian Yelich working to show he can return to full strength after back surgery late last season, Chourio is poised to step up and join William Contreras as the driving forces in Milwaukee," Catania continued. "Although he looked overmatched early as a rookie, Chourio put everything together from June 1 on: .303/.358/.525 with 25 doubles, 16 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 98 games. He’s got even bigger goals for his sophomore season -- could that include an MVP push?"

After logging a .455/.500/1.000 slash line with five hits including two home runs and three RBIs in 11 at-bats for the Brewers during last year's NL Wild Card Series loss to the New York Mets, Chourio has Milwaukee excited for his second season in the majors.

Winning NL MVP over superstars Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto would undoubtedly be an unforeseen accomplishment if Chourio finds a way to pull it off. After the impressive rookie season the Venezuelan native had in 2024, it'll be exciting to see what he can do at the plate this year.

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