He’s a strong man and when it all works he has plus power to all fields.Ĭontreras does a good job taking pitches and has good strike zone command, but gets himself into trouble when he expands his zone with two strikes. Contreras’s primary advantage is his good bat speed and strong hands that allow him to whip the bat head through the zone. Offense: While statistically 2019 has been Contreras’s poorest season on the offensive side, all of the tools that made him a prospect remain. The highlight of Contreras’s season is likely catching two no-hitters within a little over a month, Jasseel De La Cruz‘s with Florida on May 18 and then Ian Anderson and Jeremy Walker‘s combined no-hitter with Mississippi on June 28. Most notably, the nascent power that Contreras started to demonstrate in Danville and Rome has almost disappeared in Florida and Mississippi, environments that are notoriously difficult for hitters without either speed or light-pole power. The struggles continued after an early June promotion to AA Mississippi. Returning to Florida, Contreras got off to a fast start, hitting. Getting a second major league spring training non-roster invite, Contreras made a good impression last off-season and received glowing articles in the AJC and The Athletic. This trio would be promoted to advanced-A Florida almost simultaneously before the end of the season, getting a one-month preview of life in the tougher Florida State League offensive environment. 293/.360/.463 in 82 games played, joining outfielder Drew Waters and shortstop Riley Delgado to give Rome one of the best top of the line-ups in the SAL. It was after his work in Danville that Contreras started to appear regularly on Braves Top 30 prospect lists (including a #16 placement on the OFR list) and he earned Appalachian League All-Star honors.Įxpectations were high for his full-season debut in 2018, and Contreras met them with a solid season at and behind the plate for Rome, hitting. William spent the first three seasons of his pro career opening eyes at the rookie ball level, making stops each season in the DSL, GCL, and in Danville. While the younger Contreras has moved through the Braves system quicker than Willson did with the Cubs, it probably is instructive to keep in mind that catchers develop at their own pace and teams that try to rush the process usually regret it. Defense is much more critical and takes up much more development time as well. The physical nature of catching means that they typically don’t get as many plate appearances as other prospects. The reality is that catchers tend to develop at a more deliberate rate than players of other positions. He repeated the Dominican Summer League and low-A ball and went unclaimed in the Rule 5 draft in 2015. It seems hard to believe now, but Cubs catcher Willson Contreras was not a well-regarded prospect as he came through Chicago’s farm system. The Cubs of course employ Contreras’s older brother Willson, and William has demonstrated a lot of the same physical tools as the Cubs All-Star. Be sure to check out the OFR Farm Report Podcast, out every Monday! Prospect Spotlight: William ContrerasĬontreras was signed late in the 2014/15 international signing class for $10,000 to say that Contreras has been an underdog most of his minor league career is an understatement.
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