Cleveland Guardians’ Gavin Williams Mowin’ Em Down In Cactus League

Cleveland Guardians right-handed starter, Galvin Williams, is showing no signs of the sore elbow that cost him playing time last spring.

Williams, 25, arrived at Guardians spring training camp in Goodyear, Arizona in fantastic condition.

Williams appears totally recovered from an elbow issue that ensued last spring training.

Williams suffered elbow discomfort and inflammation after using a weighted ball in the Guardians training camp.

He made two spring training starts, and was then shut down, moving from the roster to the Guardians Injured List. He was ultimately transferred to the team’s 60-Day Injured List.

After emerging from the 60-day Injured List, Williams was activated June 30, 2024. He made only 16 Cleveland starts last season, pitching 76 innings.

Williams was clearly not the same starter this old scout observed when Williams made his 2023 debut with Cleveland.

Williams pitched to a 3-10 record, with a high 4.86 ERA, and 1.36 WHIP.

Williams looked very tentative in his starts last year, as if he was waiting for his elbow issue to resurface.

This spring, Gavin Williams looks like an entirely different pitcher.

In his first three spring starts, Williams threw eight innings, yielding one earned run, for a 1.13 ERA. He struck out 16 hitters, while walking only two.

Williams’ fastball is back, and then some.

Williams has lost weight. gained strength, and is pitching with tremendous confidence.

brooksbaseball.com is listing his four-seam fastball this spring training at 97 miles per hour.

Williams is using his four-seamer on a whopping 73.08% of his pitches.

Williams is getting great life, and bite on his fastball. Even when hitters know it’s coming. The movement on the pitch is so good, it alters the eye level of the hitter.

Williams is very skilled at “climbing the ladder” and continuing to elevate the fastball, until the pitch looks so good to the hitter, he can’t resist swinging. The problem? They generally can’t catch up with the pitch.

Williams has also mixed in a curve ball on 13.46% of his pitches, and a slider for 13.46% of his offerings.

About Gavin Williams:

Williams is a very large man. He is listed by the Guardians at 6-6, 250 pounds. He presents an imposing presence on the mound.

While he throws right-handed, Williams is a left-handed hitter, although baseball fans are not likely to see Williams at the plate anytime soon.

In 2017, the Tampa Bay Rays drafted Williams out of Cape Fear High School, in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

As a senior, Williams threw two consecutive no-hitters at Cape Fear High.

Williams suffered a torn meniscus during that senior year, but returned to pitching. He finished with a record of 6-1, with a 0.35 ERA in 39 innings.

A 30th round selection by the Rays, Williams chose to attend East Carolina University.

The (then) Cleveland Indians drafted Williams with their No. 1 selection in the 2021 draft. Williams was the No.23 player chosen.

Interestingly, during his tenure at East Carolina, Williams suffered a forearm strain, which sidelined him in his freshman year.

The Guardians got a bargain when Williams signed. Major League Baseball suggested a bonus amount for slot 23 that year at $2.926,800. Williams signed for $ 2.25 million.

Williams made his major league debut in June 2023, at the age of 23. He threw 5.2 innings against Oakland, yielding four earned runs. He didn’t get a decision in that Guardians victory.

Williams, and right-hander Tanner Bibee, 26, form an impressive duo at the top of the Guardians pitching rotation.

Williams and Bibee will likely be joined by Cleveland ace Shane Bieber, who is recovering from elbow surgery, but should pitch this season.

Together, Williams, Bibee, and Bieber may be very, very tough on MLB hitters.

While all five current rotation slots remain a bit unsettled, it is clear that Williams and Bibee have nailed down the top two spots on Cleveland’s starting staff.

The Guardians front office, and the team’s fans are looking forward to Gavin Williams building upon his fantastic spring.

To this old scout, Williams has All Star potential.

Gavin Williams could be emerging as a very consequential pitcher on a Cleveland team that hopes to build upon their success of last season.