Most prominent amongst the distinctions is the very different, and more onerous path, Contreras has taken. Signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela, at the tender age of seventeen back in 2009, Contreras never had the comfort of having an organization invest a number four overall pick into his future.
He wasn’t completely without hype, as he was talented enough to garner an 850,000 signing bonus (the highest for any international signing for the Cubs that year), but such international purchases are of the dime a dozen commodity, of which only a select, unpredictable few later emerge as more valuable pieces.
In the early going, it didn’t appear as though Contreras was destined to be one of those lucky few. Through the end of 2014, he’d yet to make it out of A ball, having never compiled an .OPS higher than .679, and his development behind the dish was, despite a strong arm, shoddy at best, most likely due to the organization’s unwillingness to commit him to the position. The power the Cubs scouts had once foresaw developing was still yet to appear, and an inability to hit right handed pitching greatly hindered further promotions. Twice the Cubs left him exposed to the Rule 5 draft, and twice no other team bothered to pick him up.
It was only after his breakout season in 2015 that things began to change. People began to take notice after Contreras put together a dominant campaign at AA West Tennessee. By this point the power, capacity to hit righties, and the translation of athletic skill to defensive merit at the catcher position, all seemed to be arriving. Still, the sudden nature of his ascension led to mixed reviews. While the Cubs named him their 2015 Minor League Player of the Year, the various ranking systems were conflicted over what to do with him. After replicating last year’s success during the first few months at AAA Iowa this spring Contreras firmly established himself as an elite prospect, and the promotion to the big leagues, and all that has followed, has led some to forget his largely anonymous recent past.
"“It’s like oxygen….It’s absolutely necessary, the life he’s brought to the group. He has been a catalyst the last several days.” -Cubs manager Joe Maddon, on his newest young player, Willson Contreras."
This isn’t to say Kyle Schwarber was anointed a sure thing from the outset. He was far from it. In fact, the Cubs taking him so highly, when so many had him type-cast as a future DH, left many around the league shaking their heads. However, Schwarber was, from Day 1, someone the Cubs saw as a huge piece of their future, even if they weren’t, and still aren’t, entirely sure how much catching will be in it.
Next: A question of position and offense