Milwaukee Brewers to sign several prospects on the opening of the international signing period

Today is the opening of the international signing period for Major League Baseball. Normally this would occur in the summer on July 2nd, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic pushed this signing period back several months. Milwaukee started things off by signing the top prospect they’ve been linked to — Jackson Chourio.

As mentioned in the Tweet, Chourio is the #18 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 International Prospects list. Milwaukee allocated $1.9 million of their $6.431 million allotment for 2021 on the 16-year old. The Venezuelan youngster is exactly the type of player the Brewers tend to go for. He is an up-the-middle athlete who plays both shortstop and the outfield.

According to Ben Badler of Baseball America:

The top player the Brewers are expected to sign is Jackson Brayan Chourio, a premium athlete from Venezuela who has split time between shortstop and center field. He’s a lean, lively 6-foot-1, 150 pounds with a fast bat and surprising ability to drive the ball for someone with his skinny build, with plus speed that makes him a potential power/speed threat who can play a premium position.

The Brewers are also tied to several other international players including Gregory Barrios, Daniel Guilarte, and Hendry Mendez.

Expect a flurry of activity today regarding international signings. As these players sign with the Brewers’ organization, we’ll add their name and profile to this post. More to come...

UPDATE:

According to international director Mike Groopman (via Tom Haudricourt on Twitter), the Brewers will sign 26 players from four different countries on the first day of this international signing period. Groopman praised his staff for dealing with COVID limitations and a six-month delay to the start of what is normally the J2 signing period. Groopman also praised Chourio, saying “I know people in the industry have Chourio rated high and there’s certainly reason to do that. He’s very exciting player,” while also noting that he feels “very good” about several of the prospects signed today.

Baseball America so far has 16 of those players listed for the Brewers on their signing tracker:

Jackson Brayan Chourio, ss/of (#15 ranked prospect by BA)
Gregory Barrios, ss (#44)
Daniel Guilarte, ss (#45)
Hendry Mendez, of
Manuel Vargas, of
Jonathan Guzman, ss
Jadher Areinamo, ss
Dikember Sanchez, rhp
Luis Castillo, of
Leonardo Rivera, rhp
Duncan Garcia, of
Pedro Riera, ss
Patricio Aquino, rhp
Ney Serrano, ss
Jared Albir, rhp
Alexander Vallecillo, rhp