'Trying to hit the ball hard. And far': Brewers catcher William Contreras doing damage in August
ST. LOUIS – William Contreras is doing more damage at the plate these days, and it’s not by accident.
“Trying to hit the ball hard,” the Milwaukee Brewers catcher confirmed. “And far.”
With his sixth-inning RBI double in Wednesday’s 10-6, 10-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, Contreras logged his 15th extra-base hit in August, most in the major leagues this month. With two hits, he also tallied his team-leading 38th multi-hit game of the season.
Contreras entered Thursday's series finale hitting .324 with eight doubles, a triple and six home runs in 18 games in August, good for a .735 slugging percentage and OPS of 1.138.
They’re numbers befitting a cleanup hitter, which Contreras has become in the wake of the season-ending back surgery that’s sidelined Christian Yelich, with Willy Adames also having stepped up his run production batting fifth.
“William’s been helping us all year,” manager Pat Murphy said. “He went through a little stretch there where he didn’t get as many results, but that’s to be expected in this long of a season.
“But he just helps us so much, and it’s on both sides of the ball. It’s like, how do you value a quarterback, who adds more than throwing yards? It’s how he leads his team.
“William has been fabulous.”
Indeed, Contreras hit .218 and slugged .287 in June and .244 and .395 in July after smoking the ball from the beginning of the season through May.
Fixing approach at plate has helped William Contreras get back to early-season form
A jammed finger and heavy workload behind the plate no doubt helped play a role in his struggles. But Contreras said more than anything, he’s successfully corrected a major glitch in his approach.
“I was way late on my swing. I was under,” he said. “I just made adjustments with my timing. Now, I’m early. I want to be way early and hit the ball with topspin.”
For the season, Contreras ranks in the 94th percentile in the majors with a 92.8-mph average exit velocity, in the 93rd percentile with a 50.5 hard-hit percentage and in the 71st percentile by squaring the ball up 27.6% of the time and barreling balls at a 10.1% clip.
Contreras’s bat speed, 74.7 mph on average, is tops on the Brewers and 28th-best in baseball (87th percentile).
Overall, he’s hitting fly balls a career-low 19.6% of the time and line drives at a career-high 21.7%. And while he continues to consistently hit the ball to all fields, Contreras is pulling the ball to left at a career-high 38.6% clip.
With 35 games remaining, Contreras is batting .287 with 17 homers, 73 RBI with an OPS of .831 – numbers that are almost identical to the ones he put up in 141 games in 2023, and ones that earned him his second all-star nod. His strikeout total is also right in line with 2023.
“To be honest, I want to hit 20 homers,” said Contreras, who reached that mark in 2022 while with the Atlanta Braves. “I want 85 to 90 RBI. Hit .280-plus.
“That’s a good season.”
Williams Contreras has higher goals for 2025 season
Entering his age-27 season in 2025, Contreras believes a 30-homer, 100-RBI season should be in the cards.
“It’s a goal for the future,” he said. “I just have to learn, (increase) my experience and that sort of thing. But if I’m talented enough to be a good hitter (now), I can do it.”
Murphy agrees.
“There's no doubt about that,” he said. “I mean, sky's the limit for William. Sky's the limit. And he's not even as much of an accomplished hitter yet as you think. When he gets all that together, look out.
“There’s no limits to what this kid can do on a baseball field. Special, special player. Special abilities – especially playing that position.”
In the meantime, Contreras plans to continue swinging hard, and often. Nobody can argue with the results so far.
“Early in the year, I was just trying to get base hits,” he said. “But with my numbers are like they are today – I’ve got (nearly) 500 at-bats already – if I go 0 for 4 (it doesn’t matter. I want to keep trying to produce runs).
“One day, I may be crazy and swing at everything to hit the ball hard.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers catcher William Contreras putting up big numbers in August
