Willson Contreras's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras finished 2-for-5 with a game-tying solo home run Friday night and picked up an RBI single in a 7-6 extra-inning victory over the Washington Nationals. Contreras had a rough first week coming off the injured list with a 4-for-24 stretch and a .174 batting average, with all four hits only being singles while pitching in only one RBI. July has been a different story so far. Contreras in July has gone 5-for-17 (.294) in four games with two home runs and five RBI. Despite being injured for almost two months of the season, Contreras has remained a top-12 catcher after being ranked eighth at the position to start the season. He should be rostered in most fantasy leagues.

The St. Louis Cardinals officially activated catcher Willson Contreras (forearm) from the 10-day injured list on Monday and optioned catcher Nick Raposo to Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move. The team also activated right-hander Nick Robertson (elbow) from the 15-day IL and optioned him to Memphis. Contreras will draw right back into the starting lineup at catcher and will bat third on Monday against the visiting Atlanta Braves and rookie right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach. The 32-year-old has made it back well before his projected timetable after fracturing his left forearm in early May, which has to make the Cardinals and fantasy managers ecstatic. Contreras will return to starting catching duties in St. Louis, but he may be eased back in with rookie Pedro Pages serving as his backup since Ivan Herrera (back) is on the IL.

All signs are pointing to St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (forearm) being activated from the injured list and returning to the starting lineup ahead of Monday's series opener against the visiting Atlanta Braves. Contreras fractured his forearm on May 7 and was originally slated to return by the All-Star break. Instead, he could rejoin the team weeks ahead of his projected timetable. He went 1-for-5 in his sixth minor-league rehab game for Triple-A Memphis, and his true testing point was catching back-to-back games, which he did on Friday and Saturday. He came out of those games fine and escaped a scar on Saturday when he was involved in a collision at home plate. With Ivan Herrera (back) also on the IL, rookie Pedro Pages is likely to stick around as Contreras' backup moving forward.