From the moment Willson Contreras made his debut for the Chicago Cubs back on Father’s Day in 2016 you could tell he was a threat with the bat. On the very first pitch he saw at the big league level, Contreras drilled a two-run homer to straight-away center field against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The fans, my dad and I included, erupted into a frenzy as he rounded the bases, culminating in the 24-year-old receiving a curtain call from the Wrigley faithful.
For the rest of 2016, Contreras went on to hit 12 home runs to go along with 35 RBI in just 252 at-bats.