Guardians' Gavin Williams: Not starting again this season
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Williams isn't listed as one of the Guardians' three scheduled starting pitchers for the team's season-closing series with the Tigers this weekend, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Williams last pitched Sept. 17, and though the Guardians haven't provided a clear update on his status, the 24-year-old rookie has presumably been dropped from the rotation for workload management reasons now that the team has been eliminated from playoff contention. Since he's still part of the 28-man active roster, Williams could be available out of the bullpen for the final three games of the season, though the Guardians may prefer to stay away from him. If Williams has in fact been shut down, he'll close the campaign with a 3-5 record, 3.29 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 81:37 K:BB across 82 innings with Cleveland following his June promotion from Triple-A Columbus. Williams should be assured an Opening Day rotation spot in 2024 on the heels of a strong first season in the big leagues.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Fans seven in victory
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Williams (3-5) allowed one run on four hits and two walks over six innings Sunday, striking out seven and earning a win over the Rangers.
Williams gave up a run in the second inning and didn't face any issues the rest of the way as he cruised to a win. He walked four batters in each of his previous two outings but was much more efficient Sunday, tossing 62 of 97 pitches for strikes. Williams owns a 2.50 ERA over his last four appearances, lowering his season ERA to 3.29 through 82 frames. The rookie's next start is currently lined up to be at home against the Orioles.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Walks four in quality start
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Williams allowed three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out two over six innings in a no-decision versus the Giants on Monday.
Williams gave up a solo home run to Mike Yastrzemski on his second pitch, but he was able to settle in. Williams found more trouble in the third inning and was a bit wild with four walks, matching his season high for the fifth time. The rookie right-hander has given up four runs across his last 12 innings over three appearances. He's now at a 3.43 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 74:35 K:BB through 76 innings through 15 starts overall. Williams is projected for a home start versus the Rangers over the weekend.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Earns second win
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Williams (2-5) earned the win Wednesday, allowing one run on one hit and four walks over five innings against the Twins. He struck out four.
Williams struggled a bit with his command Wednesday, issuing a walk in four of his five frames while also allowing a runner to advance to second on a wild pitch. However, the rookie right-hander was still able to get the job done, limiting the Twins to a single hit to help secure his second win of the season. It was a nice bounceback outing for Williams after exiting his previous start with right knee soreness, and it marked his first win since July 8. On the downside, he did match his season high with four walks and has now issued multiple free passes in three of his last four outings.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Set to return next week
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Williams (knee) is expected to return to the rotation next Wednesday against the Twins, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Williams will get a bit of extra rest after exiting his last start Tuesday versus Minnesota due to right knee soreness, but it's a relatively minor concern. The 24-year-old right-hander has pitched to a solid 3.46 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 68:27 K:BB across his first 65 major-league innings (13 starts) this season for the Guardians.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Allows career-high five earned runs
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Williams (1-5) took the loss Thursday, allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks over 4.1 innings against the Dodgers. He struck out five.
The rookie appeared to be in a good rhythm through the first two innings, but things began to unravel for the right-hander in the third beginning with a leadoff double from Enrique Hernandez. Two runs would come across for Los Angeles in the inning and Williams continued to struggle over the next two frames before being replaced by Hunter Gaddis. Williams allowed a career-high five earned runs on the afternoon and failed to make it through five innings for the first time in his last five starts. He's now 0-3 through five August starts, though he does carry a solid 37:9 K:BB over that stretch.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Gets little help in matinee
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Williams (1-4) took the loss Friday in the first game of a doubleheader against the Tigers, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four.
The rookie right-hander rebounded well after getting tagged for three runs in the first inning, eventually generating 31 called or swinging strikes among his 90 pitches, but the Guardians were never able to close the gap. It's the first time Williams has allowed more than two runs in an outing since his final start before the All-Star break, and he's posted a 2.31 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 44:17 K:BB through 35 innings in the second half. He'll look for a better result in his next start, a home matchup next week against the Dodgers.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Possible waiver wire pickups
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Saturday's start makes it two straight with double-digit strikeouts for Williams, 22 over 12 innings in all. But these outings have a couple more things in common. One is that the control is greatly improved, with just one walk between them. The other, and perhaps more notable, is that the velocity is up, his fastball in particular standing out with an average of 97.1 mph Saturday. It seems to match up with what Williams said following his 12-strikeout gem last time out: "I don't think I was being too fine today." Pitching coach Carl Willis had noted that up to that point, Williams had been nibbling, trying to avoid the sweet spot rather than going after hitters. It's a cliche for young pitchers, but it's understandable on a human level. He was pitching not to fail rather than to succeed. Now that we know what the latter looks like, watch out.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Shines again in no-decision
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Williams did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing one run on five hits over five innings against the Rays. He struck out 10.
Williams allowed four baserunners over the first three frames but managed to avoid any damage until the bottom of the fourth when he hung a curveball in the middle of the zone, which Luke Raley sent over the wall in center field to tie the game at 1-1. Aside from that hiccup, the rookie right-hander continued to look like a future ace Saturday, racking up double-digit strikeouts for the second straight outing while not issuing a walk for the first time in 10 starts this season. Williams now holds a 1.59 ERA to go along with a 28:5 K:BB through three August starts.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Dominant in no-decision
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Williams pitched seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against Toronto on Monday, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out 12 batters.
The rookie looked every bit like a future ace in a masterful performance that included a career-best 12 punchouts. Williams allowed just one base knock -- a first-inning Vladimir Guerrero Jr. double -- and retired the final nine batters he faced. Remarkably, this was the second seven-inning, one-hit, scoreless performance in Williams' first nine MLB outings (the other came in his second career start). Perhaps just as remarkably, he's had to settle for a no-decision in each instance, as Cleveland's offense has tallied a grand total of three runs over those two starts. Williams has just one win to his ledger thus far, but he's holding his own in the big leagues with a 2.90 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 49:22 K:BB through 49.2 innings.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Struggles with control
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Williams (1-3) took the loss Tuesday, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks over five innings against the Astros. He struck out six.
Though Williams only allowed two runs, he fell to his third loss of 2023 after Framber Valdez no-hit the Guardians. The rookie has allowed two or fewer runs in four straight starts but hasn't gone deeper than five innings in any of the outings. Williams' lack of depth is primarily due to poor command, as he's walked four batters in three of his last four appearances. Williams is expected to face off against the Blue Jays for his next start.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Goes four innings in no-decision
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Williams did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing three hits and two walks over four scoreless innings in an 8-3 win over Kansas City. He struck out five.
It's the second straight start that an elevated pitch count forced Williams out after four innings, despite limited damage against him. The rookie threw 87 pitches Wednesday, 56 for strikes, despite only issuing two walks. Williams is 1-2 this season with a 3.35 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 31:17 K:BB through seven starts (37.2 innings) this season. He'll look to provide more length in his next start, currently scheduled for next week in Houston.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Grabs first career win
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Williams (1-1) earned the win Saturday, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk over 5.2 innings against the Royals. He struck out seven.
Just one start after logging his first MLB loss, Williams came out on the winning side of Saturday's tilt and fell one out shy of recording a quality start. He set a season high in strikeouts with seven and bounced back from a poor start against Atlanta where he logged two strikeouts and allowed three homers. Through four starts (24.2 innings), Williams owns a 4.01 ERA and 19:7 K:BB, and he's allowed three or more runs in all but one outing.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Blanks Royals
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Williams did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing one hit and one walk over seven scoreless innings against the Royals. He struck out six.
Williams bounced back from his shaky MLB debut and dominated the Royals. Though he hit a batter and allowed a hit and a walk in the third inning, Williams kept those baserunners from crossing the plate and retired 13 straight batters to end the outing. Though his effort didn't result in a win, the start certainly will make for a convincing argument to keep WIlliams in the rotation for at least another turn.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Next start coming Tuesday
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Williams is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday versus the Royals in Kansas City.
As anticipated, Williams will be sticking around for another turn through the rotation after he made his highly anticipated MLB debut this past Wednesday against the Athletics. Though he fell short of a quality start in the outing, he acquitted himself well enough by striking out four over 5.2 innings while allowing four earned runs on four hits and three walks. Cleveland will have some tough decisions to make with its rotation when Cal Quantrill (shoulder) returns from the 15-day injured list, but the Guardians should be willing to make room for Williams as long as his performance warrants sticking around with the big club.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Goes 5.2 frames in big-league debut
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Williams allowed four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four batters over 5.2 innings to take a no-decision in Wednesday's 7-6 win over the Athletics.
Williams had an up-and-down outing in his first appearance in the majors, beginning with two scoreless frames before surrendering four runs in the third. He bounced back to retire eight of the final nine batters he faced before being pulled with two outs in the sixth. Williams induced a moderate seven swinging strikes and fanned just four batters in the outing, which is mildly disappointing given his 11.7 K/9 in the minors this season. Nonetheless, he acquitted himself well enough to likely get another turn in the rotation with Triston McKenzie (elbow) out multiple weeks and Cal Quantrill (shoulder) not expected to begin a rehab assignment until Friday.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Promoted ahead of MLB debut
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The Guardians selected Williams' contract from Triple-A Columbus ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday versus the Athletics.
Like Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen did before him this season, Williams will make the jump from the Triple-A rotation to the big-league pitching staff, though the 23-year-old right-hander arrives with even more fanfare than those other two prospects. Williams had established himself as one of the top pitchers in all of minor-league baseball in 2023 between stops at Columbus and Double-A Akron, accruing a 2.39 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 81:24 K:BB in 60.1 innings. The Guardians will be cognizant of managing Williams' workload as the season unfolds, but with a strong showing Wednesday, he should have a good chance at making multiple turns through the rotation even if Cleveland gets Cal Quantrill (shoulder) back from the injured list within the next week or two.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Set for MLB debut Wednesday
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Williams will be called up by the Guardians from Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday to make his major-league debut versus the Athletics, Guardians Perspective reports.
Williams was arguably the best pitching prospect in baseball still in the minors and now he's on his way to the big leagues. A first-round pick in the 2021 first-year player draft, Williams has collected a 2.39 ERA and 81:24 K:BB over 60.1 innings covering 12 starts between Columbus and Double-A Akron this season. With Triston McKenzie (elbow) and Cal Quantrill (shoulder) out indefinitely, Williams should have an opportunity to stick in the majors over the long haul if he pitches well. He should be rostered in all fantasy formats.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Dominant at Triple-A
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Williams has a 1.13 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 21 strikeouts in 16 innings through three starts for Triple-A Columbus.
The hard-throwing righty was curiously assigned to Double-A to start the season, but he forced a promotion to Triple-A after just three starts. Cleveland has started a youth movement in the rotation, with Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen already up from Triple-A, and Williams is looking like a more intriguing option than Peyton Battenfield or even Cal Quantrill, but Aaron Civale (oblique) and Triston McKenzie (shoulder) could return from injury in the coming weeks to further complicate things. It seems like Williams is essentially big-league ready, so he could get the call at any point, but it's not a foregone conclusion that he will be up soon.
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Guardians' Gavin Williams: Surprise return to Double-A
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Williams is opening the season back at Double-A Akron, MLB.com reports.
This comes via an article from the MLB Pipeline crew listing the starting level for each top 100 prospect, so it's possible it's just an error as it hasn't been reported elsewhere, but it would be pretty noteworthy for Williams' 2023 outlook if true. The hard-throwing righty dominated at Double-A for 16 starts in 2022 (2.31 ERA, 1.00 WHIP), but the Guardians have a bit of a roster crunch in the Columbus rotation. Most notable is the fact that Tanner Bibee is reportedly headed to Triple-A, so he would appear to be the current favorite of the Bibee/Williams duo to reach the majors first.
