William Contreras' Case for a 2023 MLB All-Star Nod
William Contreras has turned heads for several reasons during his first season in Milwaukee.
Whether it¡¯s been at the plate with his bat or behind it with his glove, the Brewers new backstop has quietly been putting up some impressive numbers.
Here¡¯s why William Contreras deserves a vote for his second trip to the MLB All-Star Game.
Gold Glove Defense
If there were any questions about Contreras¡¯ game coming into 2023, they were about his defense. However, the 25-year-old has done more than enough to silence any doubts on that front.
Simply put, Contreras has been one of the best defensive players in baseball this season ¨C regardless of position or league.
With six defensive runs saved, Contreras ranks tenth in Baseball and first among catchers. That¡¯s more defensive runs saved on the year than a slew of last season¡¯s Gold Glove Award winners, including Jeremy Pena, Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez.
With a whopping seven blocks above average and three catcher framing runs, Contreras ranks third in MLB in both metrics. This means he¡¯s prevented wild pitches and framed pitches as strikes at some of the highest rates in Baseball, helping him become a premier defensive backstop in the span of just a few months.
Production at the Plate
While Contreras is saving runs on one side of the dish, he¡¯s helping to put them on the board on the other.
Among qualified catchers, he ranks third in on-base percentage (.336) and OPS (.755) and second in wRC+ (108).
After a game-tying pinch-hit blast this past weekend, Contreras¡¯ eight home runs are good for the fourth highest mark in the National League among catchers.
And it¡¯s no wonder he¡¯s clobbering 440-foot shots off the scoreboard at American Family Field -- he¡¯s hit the ball hard all season to the tune of a 48.2 percent hard-hit rate ¨C ranking in the 83rdpercentile across MLB.
Combining his power with a patient eye, Contreras boasts the ability to provide juice to the middle of the order at any given moment ¨C something few MLB catchers have done this season.
Positional Value & Overall Impact
The best thing about a catcher like William Contreras is that he is not one dimensional.
Milwaukee can put him at the top of the lineup and watch him rake while trusting him to orchestrate one of the National League¡¯s top pitching staffs from behind the plate. It all adds up to Contreras being one of the most valuable catchers in MLB.
However, Contreras¡¯ value isn¡¯t always found in the box score. His 1.7 fWAR is good for second among qualified National League catchers.
William Contreras has been a massive addition on both sides of the game, and because of that, the Brewers are a much better team when he is on the field.