Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras is becoming a superstar

With his fiery style of play and ridiculous offensive output, Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras is becoming a legitimate MLB superstar.

The Chicago Cubs have a roster filled with household names. There is obviously reigning NL MVP Kris Bryant and team leader Anthony Rizzo. They also have former Cy Young award winners Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta and 2016 postseason heroes Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber and Ben Zobrist. Make no mistake about it, the Cubs have many stars on their team.

However, aside from perhaps Bryant and Rizzo, there is not anybody on the roster who has more superstar upside than catcher Willson Contreras. With his fiery style of play and recent offensive surge, Contreras is becoming an MLB superstar right in front of our eyes.

On fire at the plate

In 83 plate appearances since the All-Star break, Contreras is hitting an incredible .338/.410/.716, according to FanGraphs. In that stretch, Contreras has eight home runs, 27 RBI, a .460 wOBA and a 185 wRC+. I don’t care if you prefer more traditional numbers or advanced stats, either way, Contreras is playing at a superstar level.

Contreras has slotted in nicely as the cleanup hitter in the Cubs lineup. He is providing some much-needed protection and stability behind Bryant and Rizzo in the batting order. Contreras will start to cool off eventually, but we are seeing his upside right now. And make no mistake about it, his upside is incredible.

Style of play

To be a legitimate MLB superstar, a player cannot simply be good. He has to appeal to the fans as well. Unless you root for the team playing the Cubs on a given day, everything Contreras does on the baseball field is appealing.

Contreras has ridiculous athleticism for a catcher. His ability to fire out of his stance and make plays on balls near the plate is incredibly impressive. Nobody is quicker and more athletic than Contreras behind the plate. He also has an incredible throwing arm that he is not afraid to show off.

As a whole, Chicago Cubs pitchers are not great at holding on runners. However, Contreras’ ridiculous throwing arm along keeps opposing running games in check. Plus, he is not afraid to throw behind runners and catch them trying to get too far of a lead. Contreras is not a perfect defensive catcher, but he is a very good one who is extremely exciting to watch.

Contreras’ skills make him a lot of fun to watch, but it is more than that. He is also an extremely fiery competitor. He is the kind of player who clearly plays with his emotions on his sleeve. Look at the way he reacts after this bases loaded RBI single that gave the Cubs a lead on Thursday.

That kind of emotion and passion for the game is so appealing to the fans and is why I see Contreras quickly becoming a superstar player.

He is going to cool off at the plate eventually, but watching Contreras play the game is an absolute joy. Remember how popular Javy Baez became last postseason? Baez saved his best baseball of the year for the postseason and became an overnight star because of his success and the way he plays.

If the Cubs make another run in the playoffs, and Contreras is a major part of it as their cleanup hitter, I could see national fans being drawn to him in a similar way.

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Simply put, Willson Contreras is an incredible baseball player who is extremely fun to watch. Once he can showcase that on a huge stage, I think the Chicago Cubs catcher is going to become one of the faces of the game; a true MLB superstar.

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