Willson Contreras’ work on pitch framing showed progress in 2020. The Chicago Cubs hope their catcher grows more in 2021: ‘Those are all traits I see in elite receiving catchers across MLB.’

“This really felt like, OK, these are pitches, especially down in the bottom of the zone that was always kind of an area of struggle, and he did such a good job of framing that effectively,” Hoyer told the Tribune. “There were definitely games and moments in the games where we were like, I don’t think he would have gotten that pitch (in 2019), and now he’s getting it.”