Guardians' outfield future dealt significant blow in MLB's latest Top 100 prospects

Earlier today, MLB Pipeline put out its updated list of the Top 100 prospects in baseball and it featured plenty of highlights. Boston’s Roman Anthony moved into the top spot, where he’s quickly followed by Reds upstart Chase Burns. 

But there were also plenty of lowlights, one of which involved a familiar face. 

After slotting in as the No. 46 prospect in baseball at the beginning of the season, Cleveland farmhand Jaison Chourio dropped 26 spots to the No. 76 ranking. It was the fourth-largest drop among prospects on the list.

Guardians' outfield future dealt significant blow in MLB's latest Top 100 prospects

Jasion Chourio, the younger brother of MIlwaukee’s Jackson Chourio, is currently at High-A Lake County, where he’s slashing .168/.373/.215 with one home run in 32 games. And, according to MLB’s Sam Dykstra, that lack of production was the reason behind his dip. 

“Chourio was out a few weeks in May with a shoulder injury and is just 3-for-37 (.081) with one extra-base hit in 11 games since his return to High-A Lake County on June 6. His walk and strikeout totals on the season remain equal, but the lack of power may be a bigger drag on his profile than expected,” Dykstra wrote. 

Chourio burst onto the scene in 2023 when he hit .321 across 48 games in Rookie Ball and Single-A before spending all of last season at Single-A. While he hit .269 last year, he had an on-base percentage of .414 and walked 86 times to go along with 69 strikeouts, which helped him gain a ton of attention across MLB. 

But that hasn’t been the case this year. As mentioned by Dykstra, he sustained a shoulder injury earlier this year that seems to have thrown off his rhythm at the plate. He’s still just 20-years-old so there’s time for him to figure things out, but his struggles are a bit alarming, especially as we close in on the trade deadline. 

Elsewhere across the list, Travis Bazzana clocked in as the No. 16 prospect, while Chase DeLauter was at No. 35 after a strong start to the season. Elsewhere, Angel Genao came in as the No. 48 prospect while CJ Kafyus moved up to No. 72 after not being ranked in the Top 100 at the start of the season. 

The biggest dropper was Brewers catcher Jeferson Quero, who fell from the No. 34 spot to No. 70. The biggest riser was also a Brewer, as shortstop Luis Peña moved 56 spots from No. 95 to No. 39. 

The highest-ranked prospect from the American League Central is Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle, who is slotted in as the No. 7 prospect in baseball.