Brewers: Ranking The 10 Most Important Young Players To The Brewers Future

#5: C William Contreras

The Josh Hader trade can continue to pay dividends for Milwaukee even if they've changed the portfolio. The Brewers traded Esteury Ruiz to get William Contreras over the offseason in a clear coup for the front office. The Hader trade was about staying competitive long-term and adding Contreras achieves just that.

The 25 year old backstop immediately upgraded a position that had suffered a lot of turnover since the departure of Jonathan Lucroy. Contreras has already achieved All Star status and he's been the most productive bat in the Brewers lineup this year.

Contreras is the future behind the plate for Milwaukee. His defense has already improved tremendously in a short period of time. He's under team control for five seasons and won't be arbitration eligible until 2025.

At his best, Contreras hits for both average and power from a position where teams are lucky to get any offense at all. He's going to be penciled into the middle of the lineup card for Craig Counsell for several years.

The Brewers could have a future everyday catcher waiting in the wings with Jeferson Quero, who's currently in Double-A and one of Milwaukee's top prospects. With Contreras in the picture, the Brewers can afford to be patient with Quero and perhaps even trade him for big league assets if needed because now they know the catcher position is settled with William Contreras.