William Contreras has turned the ABS challenge system into one of Milwaukee’s sharpest postseason weapons.
The Brewers’ All-Star catcher has been behind the plate for every inning of the club’s 2026 playoff run, and that workload is nothing new for anyone who knows his game. Contreras is built for that kind of grind.
He has also given Milwaukee plenty at the plate, piling up a 1.157 OPS with three homers and five RBI in eight postseason games. But his impact hasn’t stopped there.
Defensively, Contreras has been just as important. He was already one of baseball’s best defensive catchers during the 2026 season, thanks in large part to his work controlling the running game, even if he surprisingly wasn’t named a Gold Glove finalist.
In the postseason, that part of his game has kept humming. Contreras has thrown out two would-be base-stealers and allowed only two stolen bases in eight playoff games.
His biggest value, though, may be coming through the ABS challenge system.
During the regular season, Contreras was not exactly a model of efficiency with his challenges. He succeeded on 57% of them from behind the plate, which ranked 45th out of 77 catchers with more than 20 challenges.
But he was also the most aggressive challenger in baseball, using the system 185 times. The next-closest catcher, Tyler Stephenson of the Cincinnati Reds, had 136 challenges.
That volume made sense in part because Contreras caught more innings than any other backstop in MLB this year, but it also reflected a willingness to challenge calls even when the moment didn’t seem ideal. Still, the numbers improved late. In September, he posted a 75% success rate from behind the dish.
Even with a middling overall success rate, Contreras made the system pay off. He finished first in run value gained through successful challenges at 16.4, fueled by 25 strikeouts - second-most in MLB - and nine walks wiped away, which ranked fifth. The tradeoff was that his aggressiveness also left him leading the league in run value cost from unsuccessful challenges.
That same style has carried into October, with mixed moments and plenty of payoff. One unsuccessful challenge on the first pitch of Game 3 of the NLDS stood out, but overall Milwaukee has come out ahead with Contreras working the system behind the plate.
In just eight postseason games, Contreras has already challenged 20 calls. That’s more than anyone else in the field, even though Patrick Bailey has played 10 games and ranks second with 14 challenges. Contreras is 12 for 20, and while that isn’t the top success rate, he has produced the most run value through the challenge system of any catcher in the postseason.
His NLDS numbers were dragged down by a pedestrian series, but he was outstanding in the NLCS. During the Brewers’ four-game sweep of the Dodgers, Contreras went 8 for 11 on challenges, a 73% success rate that clearly mattered. In that series, his run value gained was 0.8, and his run value cost was 0.0.
There is a downside to how often Contreras goes to the system. Milwaukee’s offense has made just seven total challenges in the postseason, and by run value above average, the Brewers have been the worst challenging offense in October.
That could make some hitters wary of tapping their helmets. Then again, Milwaukee’s offense was never aggressive with the system to begin with, so Contreras may simply be using those unused opportunities on the defensive side.
Whatever the internal arrangement is, it is working. Contreras has found his rhythm with the ABS challenge system, and his overturned calls in the NLCS were a key part of the Brewers’ sweep of the Dodgers. If that keeps up in the World Series, it could remain a major piece of Milwaukee’s push toward its ultimate goal.
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