Talking about anyone else other than Mookie Betts for National League Most Valuable Player seems about as hapless a cause as defending what the Miami Marlins have done in the offseason.
All he’s done so far is bat .345 with seven homers and 28 RBI in 44 games, walk more than strike out and score nearly a run per game. He did so while seamlessly making the extremely rare mid-career switch from corner outfielder to middle infielder. Betts is still a plus defender at the more difficult defensive position.
But we are here to be the holder of the spotlight on a candidate who deserves attention.
Might we present, Brewers catcher William Contreras.
On pace for the year of his career, and in a year where the Brewers needed him to carry.
The Milwaukee offseason wasn’t what one would call optimal.
It lost manager Craig Counsell to the Cubs, almost evoking the reaction some would’ve expected if Mike Holmgren had ditched the Pack at its Favre-ian peak for a gig with the Bears. Ace Corbin Burnes put cheese curds in his rear view mirror for Baltimore crab cakes and a seemingly better chance at a World Series.
Three-fifths of the Brewers’ best rotation is currently injured along with closer Devin Williams and first baseman Rhys Hoskins. And just past the quarter pole, new manager Pat Murphy has them at 26-17, 1 ½ games ahead of Counsell and Milwaukee’s rivals from Chicago.
How? Just look at Contreras. He’s not only the best Contreras catching in the division – and the Cardinals’ Willson Contreras was off to a great start before going on the shelf – but maybe the best catcher in the game.
Contreras is batting .352, 63 points above his career high, with five homers and 30 RBIs. He’s scoring nearly a run a game and it’s not because he’s Rickey Henderson on the bases to boot. No, it’s because he’s on base just about all the damn time.
Just ask the Pirates about him. They saw him homer, triple and knock in four runs Wednesday during a 10-2 dumptrucking. And it’s not just his bat; he’s on a pace to easily accomplish his career high in walks.
There’s also this new-fangled stat called “blasts.” It measures a batter’s ability to square up the ball while generating above-average bat speed. Going into this week, Contreras had 58 – eight more than anyone else.
“He had a great year last year and was a really good player for us,” said 2018 National League MVP Christian Yelich, “but he’s really taken that next step offensively, defensively, baserunning.”
About that defense: He was dinged for that during his days in Atlanta but has shepherded a shorthanded staff to the middle of the MLB pack so far. As those injured arms return, that team earned run average should improve.
And so, too, might Contreras’ MVP chances. Even to the point one might bet against Betts.
