Both projected Braves starting catchers Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers are experiencing “flu-like symptoms” before the first game of the 2020 season and rookies Alex Jackson and William Contreras have been activated. While both d’Arnaud and Flowers have reportedly tested negative for COVID-19, this is a sobering moment in baseball’s experiment with trying to play games in the midst of this pandemic.
As we hope for the best, it’s still an exciting time for one of Atlanta’s best prospects.
The Player
William Contreras, C
Age: 22
Bats: R
OFR Prospect Rank: 5
2019 Level: AA Mississippi
The Results (2019)
.255/.315/.354
98 wRC+
6 HR | 0 SB
7.0 BB %
20.2 K%
The History
An international amateur free agent from the 2015/16 signing period out of Venezuela, Contreras is the younger brother of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras and displays many of the same attributes. Contreras has had a steady rise through the Braves system, ending last season at AA Mississippi.
Contreras landed firmly on prospect radar after a strong season with Danville in 2017, winning the team’s Player of the Year and being named the #10 prospect in the Appalachian League by Baseball America. The following season with Rome he was named a South Atlantic League All-Star after hitting .293/.360/.463 with 11 home runs before a late-season promotion to high-A Florida. In 2019, Contreras returned to Florida with a mandate to focus on his defense. His offensive numbers took a hit, but he had two defensive highlights when he caught no hitters by first Jasseel De La Cruz and then a combined no-no by Ian Anderson and Jeremy Walker after he was promoted to AA Mississippi. After the season the Braves added him to the 40-man roster.
This spring Contreras’s improved defense received good reviews from coaches prior to the shutdown. It appears that Contreras may have been working on his swing, perhaps with the help of his brother, during the shutdown. When he arrived at summer camp, Contreras showed off a slightly altered swing and used it to be one of the more impressive hitters in intra-squad games.
The Report
At the plate, Contreras is best when he is aggressive against fastballs, using his bat speed and hands to go with the pitch. When he is able to stay back he can hit the ball with authority to all fields. In summer camp he showed a calmer pre-pitch routine that kept his head steadier and his hands moving directly to the ball. This allowed him to pull the ball with more consistency on mistake pitches. His bad speed is very good but he can get fooled badly when he guesses wrong and is out on his front foot.
Defensively Contreras is an excellent game caller and a solid pitch framer. He has a rocket arm and has steadily improved his footwork over the last couple of seasons to the point where opposing baserunners essentially stopped running against him by the second half of last year.
What’s Next
Hopefully the illnesses to d’Arnaud and Flowers will prove to be short-lived, but Contreras should be able to hold his own in the spotlight. With Flowers a free agent after this season, a good showing in games this season could put Contreras in the driver’s seat to command at least a time share at the position in Atlanta with d’Arnaud in 2021.
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