Barring an injury or something unexpected, he will be honored for his emergence by serving as the American League starter in next month's All-Star Game.
"If Contreras is available, he will go,'' said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who will name the starter. "If he makes the team, he should be [the starting pitcher]. He has the best numbers.''
Oh, yes, the numbers. Let's give them a quick review.
Contreras enters a World Series rematch against Houston on Friday night riding a 15-game winning streak over 20 regular-season starts. He's compiled a 2.57 earned run average during that stretch. He's 7-0 with a 2.96 ERA this season.
Including his work as the White Sox's No. 1 starter last October, Contreras is 18-1 with a 2.65 ERA in his last 24 starts; during that stretch, he has allowed more than three earned runs only three times. The lone loss was a 3-2 defeat against the Los Angeles Angels in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, a game in which Contreras pitched into the ninth inning.
It's hard to believe this is the guy who was traded at midseason by the Yankees in '04. If losing him wasn't maddening enough for George Steinbrenner, consider that the Yankees have paid $2 million of Contreras' salary in each of the last two years.