William Contreras Shows Several Positives In Early Looks
William Contreras is displaying early signs that his adjustments at the plate over the past year have the potential to work at the major league level, with the usual rookie caveat that discipline adjustments will be needed in the future.
Contreras has been forced into major league action much sooner than anyone expected after Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers fell ill just before opening day. It’s quite the story that a 22-year-old prospect who struggled at Double-A the year before is suddenly getting consecutive starts at the highest level, but that’s the volatility we face in 2020.
His initial few games could have gone in a number of directions, but he showed out in his first plate appearance Saturday with an RBI double and backed it up in his first start Sunday with three hits. He looked road-weary in another start Monday along with his teammates and faced high-level stuff from the Rays staff, resulting in a hitless night. But he capped the game by barreling a 96 mph fastball at the top of the zone that was 105 mph off the bat, which was probably the best swing he’s had so far.
The young catcher has made significant adjustments at the plate over the past year to stay more balanced and simplify the load and fire, leading to a more consistent bat path and better barrel consistency. He hasn’t lost his explosiveness and natural twitchy athleticism at the plate despite a simplified swing and filled-out frame. The adjustments are allowing Contreras to tap into his natural feel to hit and above-average raw power on a more consistent basis, and that has helped push him to a major league role in this crazy season.
His first career hit and RBI on Saturday against the Mets is a good example of the adjustments turning into results. The photo is Contreras at contact, reaching down to barrel a breaking ball that he picked up early in the release and taking it to right-center with excellent carry. He covers the plate very well and has an advanced barrel awareness, and this swing taps into those skills to get to that pitch with a clean bat path. The ball carried nearly to the warning track on the fly, further proof that the sneaky raw power plays in-game when he has an efficient stroke that results in better contact.
His final at-bat Monday night was another example. Contreras used his natural explosiveness to catch up to 96 at the top of the zone, level it off and send it to left-center at 105 off the bat. These two examples are different pitches at a 14 mph range, one being low and away, the other at the letters. He barreled up both with impact contact. His development at the plate has allowed this type of production.
At the same time, major league pitchers will eventually identify that Contreras is pressing some by swinging at 61 percent of pitches through 10 plate appearances. His feel to hit allows this to work to an extent, but he’s chasing an abnormally high percentage of pitches and will need to settle in. Contreras has a track record of seeing pitches well and producing good enough BB/K rates, so it’s not a long-term concern. It’s natural to press and swing a lot when you first come up.
Behind the plate, Contreras has proven pretty reliable. He’s had a lapse or two by not turning the glove over on a pitch in the dirt or shifting the mitt too much on a frame job, but overall it’s been a positive start for him defensively. He will need to continue to work to become a better receiver by quieting the mitt more, but he’s already come a long way in that aspect and has put in the work. There’s no reason why he can’t develop into an above-average defender to pair with that plus arm.
As long as d’Arnaud and Flowers remain out, Contreras should get the majority of time at catcher. Alex Jackson is the surer defender and better receiver, but Contreras has more upside at the plate and represents the better overall potential value. If one of d’Arnaud or Flowers returns soon, I’d keep Contreras as the second catcher and still give him occasional starts, even more so if Flowers returns first. Contreras should obviously go back to Gwinnett camp and get consistent reps when d’Arnaud and Flowers both return.
I was going to include observations on Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Sean Newcomb and others in this post (and I will Friday), but I felt Contreras had done enough to warrant his own observations alone. It’s been a solid start to his major league career, and he should take a lot of confidence and positivity from this regardless of what happens the rest of the way.