There was plenty of "Willson Contreras: Future MVP?" discussion during spring training.
Any time a player in his age-25 year season hits 21 home runs with a .276/.356/.499 slash line at a premium defensive position (catcher) despite missing about a month with a hamstring injury (as Contreras did in 2017), the baseball world takes notice. The notion that he might one day garner MVP recognition was nothing to be laughed at.
Through the first few months of 2018, Contreras did much of the same. He had a small drop off in power, but he still had his moments and was solid overall.