Brewers catcher William Contreras honored with National League Silver Slugger award
William Contreras has been passed over for multiple leaguewide awards from the 2023 season but, at last, gets his flowers.
Contreras was named the Silver Slugger Award recipient at catcher for the National League on Thursday night, giving him a piece of hardware after a career year in his first season with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Contreras was the top hitter and most valuable player overall for the Brewers, combining excellent offense with much-improved defense after being acquired via trade from the Atlanta Braves in the off-season.
The 25-year-old backstop batted .289 with a .367 OBP and .457 slugging percentage across 141 games. Contreras hit 17 homers and 38 doubles while scoring 86 runs and driving in 78.
Contreras’ weighted runs created plus (wRC+) of 124 was fourth-best among all MLB catchers with at least 400 plate appearances and third in the National League. But the two NL catchers who finished above him – Sean Murphy had a 129 wRC+ and William’s brother Willson Contreras had a 127 wRC+ – both had far fewer plate appearances than Contreras’ 611, which were the second-most of any catcher in baseball.
Contreras’ 38 doubles and 56 extra-base hits led all catchers in MLB.
In his first year as a full-time starter in the majors, Contreras shouldered a heavy load for the Brewers offense despite logging nearly 1,000 innings behind the plate. He appeared in all but one game in the second half as the Brewers needed him to play everyday, whether at catcher or designated hitter, while their offense struggled at times. Contreras responded, too, posting a .880 OPS and 32 extra-base hits across those 70 games.
Contreras was not named an all-star despite being among the leaders at the position in Wins Above Replacement at the break, then most recently was glossed over for Gold Glove consideration despite being the fifth-most valuable defender, regardless of position, in MLB according to Fangraphs’ defensive rating.
Contreras did receive Brewers team MVP honors from the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He is also likely to receive down-ballot votes for the NL MVP award, which will be announced later this month.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers William Contreras named NL Silver Slugger at catcher
