Williams is coming off a season where he pitched a career-high 167.2 innings, walking a league-high 83 hitters. There’s a true justification to the statement that his turnaround is largely attributed to his cutting the BB/9 number down from 4.5 last season to 2.9 now. Though still a high mark, the 2.9 is a full walk below his career number.

Though he is coming off his worst start of the year, Gavin Williams has played a significant role in the success of the team this season. There shouldn’t be much pushback to the right-hander being selected for his first All-Star Game this summer.    (Cristian Crespo - Just Baseball) 

Williams committed to East Carolina University before his senior season, 2017, at Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. As a sophomore in 2015, he helped lead Cape Fear to the regular-season championship in the Mid-South 4-A Conference. Gavin 

In 2017, Williams was the Rays 30th round pick, out of Cape Fear High in NC. But Gavin did not sign, choosing East Carolina Univ. instead.

At ECU, Gavin majored in criminal justice.

While he was average in his first two seasons with East Carolina University, he enjoyed a true breakout season in his senior year posting an incredible 10-1 record with a 1.88 ERA and 130 strikeouts through 81.1 innings. He was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, while also being selected to the 2021 College Baseball All-America Team.

2018: 15 G, 0-0, 1.15 ERA, 9/7 K/BB rate in 15.2 IP

2019: 21 G (5 starts), 1-4, 4.56 ERA, 56/23 K/BB rate in 49.1 IP

2020: 2 G, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5/2 K/BB rate in 3 IP

2021: 15 G (12 starts) 10-1, 1.88 ERA, 130/21 K/BB rate in 81.1 IP

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70 -- Slider: 50 - Changeup: 50 -- Curveball: 55 -- Control: 50.

2021 Season:  Williams pitched to a 10-1 record, 1.88 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Eye-popping numbers.

July 2021: Gavin was the Indians #1 pick (#23 overall), out of East Carolina Univ. in NC.

July 23, 2021: The Indians announced that they signed Williams for $2.25 million (slot value $2,926,800), via scout Pete Loizzo.

July 24, 2021: The Indians’ history with Williams dates back to his time at Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, NC, as they watched him grow to become a 6-foot-6 flamethrower who comfortably sits in the mid to upper 90s and has routinely hit 100 mph.

At East Carolina, Williams never found a regular rotation spot in his first three seasons, and it didn’t help that the pandemic-shortened 2020 season was cut even shorter for him due to a finger injury that limited him to just three frames in relief. But Cleveland is confident there are no lingering issues. (M Bell - MLB.com - July 24, 2021)

In 2022, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Gavin as the 8th-best prospect in the Guardians organization. He was at #2, behind only RHP Daniel Espino in 2023.

Feb 17, 2022: Guardians best prospect drafted out of college: Gavin Williams, RHP (No. 9)

Williams shed his reputation as a hard thrower who lacked polish in his fourth season at East Carolina last spring, garnering American Athletic Conference pitcher of the year honors while ranking fifth in NCAA Division I in strikeout rate (14.4 per nine innings). The 23rd overall choice last July, he backs up a mid-90s fastball that hits 100 mph with a solid curveball and changeup. (Mayo, Callis, Dykstra - MLB.com - Feb 17, 2022)

MLB debut (June 21, 2023): The Guardians are bringing up No. 16 overall prospect Gavin Williams to make his Major League debut at home against the Athletics. Williams joins former Top 100 talent Tanner Bibee and lefty Logan Allen among rookies to debut in the Cleveland rotation this season, but neither of those two hurlers reached the heights Williams has in prospect rankings.

The 23-year-old right-hander heads to The Show after posting a 2.93 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 61 strikeouts in 46 innings with Triple-A Columbus. He was even more dominant at Double-A Akron, where he opened the 2023 season and allowed just one earned run while fanning 20 in 14 1/3 frames. The 6-foot-6 hurler’s stuff backs up the results, and that’s what Cleveland brass is banking on with the move.

Williams has touched 101.1 mph with his four-seam fastball this spring, giving him the fastest pitch thrown by an International League starting pitcher in 2023 as measured by Statcast. That same heater has averaged 96.9 mph over his nine Triple-A starts. Emmanuel Clase (97.7) is the only Cleveland pitcher to average a higher velo in the Majors this season on a four-seamer, and the closest starter is Bibee (95.2). Seventy-three of Williams’ 119 whiffs with Columbus (61.3 percent) have come on the four-seam alone.

Williams started for the Guardians and had an up-and-down night. He pitched 5.2 innings and struck out four while also giving up four runs.

While Williams has generated the most swings-and-misses on his fastball, his mid-80s slider and upper-70s curveball have arguably been just as instrumental in holding batters at bay in the Minors.

The slider is his best secondary weapon against fellow righties with tight two-plane break that keeps them off balance (and off the fastball) while the curve drops in nicely against lefties. Notably, Williams didn’t allow an extra-base hit off his deuce in Triple-A, and while he used his fading upper-80s changeup more sparingly than his other offspeed offerings, he held left-handed batters to a .181/.326/.250 line in Triple-A – quite comparable to the .190/.247/.393 one sported by righties against him at the same level. 

Using that whole arsenal, Williams earned swinging strikes on 15.4 percent of his pitches thrown with Columbus, the highest rate among Triple-A pitchers (min. 40 IP) this season. For comparison, Spencer Strider (19.6 percent), Luis Castillo (15.6) and Shane McClanahan (15.6) are the only Major League starters with higher swinging-strike rates in 2023.  That said, Cleveland has become notorious in recent years for taking college pitchers with stellar control and improving their stuff (particularly their fastball velocities) in pro ball. Williams doesn’t quite fit that narrative.

The former East Carolina star has thrown hard dating back to his high school days but walked around four batters per nine innings in his first two seasons on campus in 2018 and 2019. It wasn’t until 2021 that he truly popped with improved strike-throwing ability, posting a 1.88 ERA with 130 strikeouts and only 21 walks in 115 innings. The Guardians selected him 23rd overall that July, but even in the two years since, he's been more about blowing hitters away with K’s than keeping them off the basepaths with free passes. Williams’ 33.3 percent K rate ranks second in Triple-A, while his 11.5 percent walk rate places 68th among 103 pitchers at that level with at least 40 innings.

Those control woes could be the only things that hold Williams back from flying out of the gate in Cleveland. Bibee (4.05 ERA) and Allen (3.95 ERA) have both been solid rookie contributors through the season’s first three months, but both lack Williams’ swing-and-miss ceiling. With a downtrodden AL Central very much within the Guardians’ grasp, Williams could become the club’s No. 2 starter behind Shane Bieber and heading into the second half. (S Dykstra - MLB.com - June 20, 2023)

Williams’ ascent through the system was quick. His hype has been immense, as he ranks No. 13 on MLB Pipeline’s latest top prospect ranking.

If he realizes his potential, the Guardians could have their next ace: a 6-foot-6, soft-spoken, hard-throwing Carolina kid who possesses what rotation mate Tanner Bibee describes as “one of the more unreal fastballs I’ve ever seen.”

“If he’s attacking the zone,” Bibee said, “he’s really hard to beat.” “(Williams’ delivery) is super stock. Gerrit Cole’s is super stock, too,” Bibee said. “It’s quiet, quiet, quiet. And then he hits a point in his delivery and it’s just, BOOM, down the mound, and it’s just, like, ‘100 (mph).’ It’s electric.” (Meisel - Jun 27, 2023 - The Athletic) 

Every afternoon, as Gavin strolls through the Guardians’ dugout, he identifies an unsuspecting target. He studies their stance and makes sure their attention is diverted elsewhere. He inches closer. And then he delivers a couple of quick taps on the shoulder.

The subject typically swings their head in the wrong direction, and the trickster revels in the brief aftermath of victory. No one is safe: teammate, coach, bat boy, reporter. It’s the sort of mini-prank that would delight a small child or a dorky dad. Or the 26-year-old Cleveland pitcher with the 97 mph fastball.

Gavin loves to size up the team’s head of security, even though Paul Moviel — a former member of the president of the United States’ secret service detail — is the only guy in Williams’ world who is bigger than he is. He enjoys Madden, even though he tends to get smoked while playing on rookie mode. 

And then there’s the knuckleball. How does Cleveland’s top starter begin his daily throwing sessions, whether it’s a breezy catch game or a warmup session ahead of a critical start? He digs his knuckles into the red seams of the baseball and tosses a few floaters toward his catcher. It’s not a pitch he throws in games. No, that’s for Year 20 of his big-league career, he said. But if he doesn’t workshop it now, he contends that it won’t be ready to deploy in 2042.

“It stinks,” Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis said. Williams insisted that Willis be consulted about the pitch.

Williams describes himself as a simple guy trying to do his best, trying to make a living playing professional baseball. He never deviates from that easy-going mode.

But when it’s his start day and the clock is ticking toward the first pitch and it’s time to get the adrenaline surging?

Nope. No, he’s the same guy then, too. He doesn’t listen to any particular song to pump himself up. He doesn’t seek out any artificial motivation. 

OK, but what about when he’s out there on the mound, ready to pump a 98 mph heater past his enemy in the batter’s box?

Nope. Same guy.

“Level-headed, the whole time,” he said.

What if an umpire blows a call?

“Everybody’s human,” he said. “Can’t really get mad at it. I’ve blown things. Same with umpires.”

What if he serves up a home run?

“You can’t go through a whole season without giving up a homer.” 

For Cleveland, Corey Kluber was the longstanding ace with a living room full of awards to back up the label. They’re looking for a new anchor. “That,” Williams said, “is what I want to be.” (Meisel - Sep 5, 2025 - The Athletic)

Williams has a 93-101 mph FASTBALL that is a swing-and-miss  has a 70 grade. He spins a 76 -78 mph 11-to-5 CURVEBALL that is a 60 grade, on the 20-80 scouting scale. His short mid-80s SLIDER grades 55. He also has an 84-86 mph firm CHANGEUP with a 50 grade. He now has 50 grade control. 

Williams still stands out most with his fastball, which can sit at 94-97 mph late into games and continues to reach triple digits. The biggest reason for his surge is that after years of struggling to spin the ball effectively, he has developed two solid breaking pitches, with his tighter mid-80s slider landing in the zone and missing bats more frequently than his upper-70s curveball with good shape and depth. He also has a solid mid-80s changeup with fade, though it can get too firm at times. 

Besides upgrading his breaking stuff, Williams also has dramatically improved his control after battling the strike zone in his first three college seasons. He cleaned up his delivery and began repeating it better in 2021, and that carried over into pro ball. Once he gets more consistent with throwing his secondary pitches for strikes, he'll be a mid-rotation starter in Cleveland. (BA - Spring 2023) 

2023 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: Fastball 58% - 96.3 mph; Slider 21.6% - 85 mph; Curve 15.5% - 77 mph; Change 5% - 89 mph.

2024 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: 4-seam Fastball 53.2% - 96.5 mph; Change 5% - 89 mph; Slider 2.3% - 87.3 mph; Curve 19.3% - 79.4 mph; Cutter 20.3% - 90.5 mph.

2025 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: 4-seam Fastball 39.7% - 96.7 mph; Sinker 5.7% - 96 mph; Slider 19.6% - 86.6 mph; Curve 21.8% - 82 mph; Cutter 13% - 91.7 mph. 

Williams has an impressive arsenal built on firepower and a variety of pitch shapes. His four-seam fastball sits 94-97 mph with heavy bore and generates average ride and above-average run, making it a truly gnarly bat-missing weapon. It generates an above-average whiff rate.

Gavin's fastball was voted the best in the IL in 2023, via Baseball America's survey of league managers. It’s not just shape and velocity, but his ability to hold his stuff and locate with consistency.

Aside from his fastball, Williams can turn to two breaking pitches—a mid-70s curveball and a tighter, mid-80s slider—as well as a changeup.

An imposing 6-foot-6, Williams gets down the mound with power and force while mixing a variety of pitch shapes at different velocities. He has the body, pitch mix and power of a potential front-of-the-rotation starter and as a rookie had begun to show signs of future dominance. (G. Pontes - BA - Sept., 2023)

Gavin stands out for his size and arm strength. His fastball sits around 95 mph, has touched 101 and can get swings and misses, especially up in the zone. He throws both a curveball and slider, with his 11-to-5 curveball being the better of the two, though the short slider is a solid pitch in its own right. He also has good feel for a firm changeup, though it's the least advanced of his offerings.

Williams had control issues early in his college career and those can still crop up at times, but he should pitch with average command. Williams displays all the characteristics of an above-average starter, and he has a tantalizing combination of upside. (Teddy Cahill - Baseball America Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2023)

2022 Season: No first-round college pitcher drafted in 2021 looked better this season than Williams, who led the minors with a .173 opponent average and ranked third with a 1.96 ERA. The 6-foot-6 righthander is long-levered but projects to throw enough strikes to develop into a workhorse starter with mid-90s heat and quality breaking stuff.

When he walks into the ballpark, or onto the mound, you know he’s there,” Lake County manager Greg DiCenzo said of the 6-foot-6, 238-pound Williams, the 23rd overall pick in 2021 out of East Carolina.

In his first taste of full-season ball this year, the 23-year-old Williams opened plenty of eyes by shutting down plenty of bats.

In a combined 25 starts for High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron, Williams recorded a 1.96 ERA in 115 innings and led the minors with a .173 opponent average. He struck out 149 and walked 40.

“He’s got all the tools, for sure,” DiCenzo said. “He’s learning how we value pitching in our organization, the way we try to set the standard for young arms and how to develop them at the appropriate rate. We’re not rushing guys, but we are challenging them.”

Williams met all the challenges this year. With a 70-grade fastball and mountain man frame, Williams averaged 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings and had a 0.95 WHIP.

“He’s got a fastball in the upper 90s, so he can dominate with his fastball, but he’s learning to utilize his other pitches,” DiCenzo said. “He’s also a really physically intimidating pitcher, with quite a presence on the mound.”

Williams augments his repertoire with a curveball, slider and solid makeup.

“He wants the ball,” DiCenzo said. “He’s not afraid to compete, and he’s not afraid to fail. If he doesn’t have a successful sequence of pitches—for some young pitchers that can have an adverse effect on how they compete the rest of that inning.

"For him, although he didn’t struggle or falter very much, when he did, he got right back on the horse again and competed his head off. For a young pitcher, that’s always good to see.” (Jim Ingraham - Baseball America - Nov. 2023)

Williams still can light up a radar gun for several innings and tickling triple digits. After showing little feel for spin before last year, he suddenly added power and shape to his curveball, which now sits in the upper 70s with outstanding metrics. He also turned a mediocre slider into a mid-80s offering that shows flashes of becoming solid while retaining his aptitude for throwing a mid-80s changeup with fade.  

In addition to improving his breaking pitches, Williams also upgraded his strike-throwing, cutting his walk rate from 4.2 per nine innings in his first three college seasons to 2.3 in his fourth. He cleaned up his delivery during his time at East Carolina and began repeating it better last spring. If his breakout is sustainable, he won't need much time in the Minors before becoming a mid-rotation starter. (Spring 2022)

Williams' fastball remains his primary weapon, as he can hold upper 90s heat for several innings and still approach triple digits. His curveball suddenly gained more power and better shape in 2021, sitting in the upper 70s with some eye-popping metrics, and his previously lackluster slider is now a mid-80s offering that shows flashes of becoming solid. He has maintained his aptitude for throwing a mid-80s changeup, giving him four legitimate pitches.

Strong and athletic, Williams cleaned up his delivery during his time at East Carolina but didn't provide regular strikes until this spring. He looked on the verge of a breakout in the fall of 2019 but broke the ring finger on his right hand during a rundown drill and barely got the chance to pitch as a junior. A year later, he looks like a potential mid-rotation starter. (Spring 2022)

July 2021: Gavin was a popular pick by all in the Guardians scouting department.

“If you’d had the opportunity to see our room and how our scouts reacted to adding Gavin, that tells you how we feel about him,” Indians scouting director Scott Barnsby said.

A first-team All-American this season at East Carolina, Williams went 10-1 with a 1.88 ERA and 130 strikeouts and 21 walks in 81.1 innings. Perhaps the highlight of Williams’ season occurred in ECU's super regional against Vanderbilt when he struck out 13 in 7.1 innings.

“And he held 97 (mph) the entire game,” Barnsby said. “He’s just a physical righthanded power arm who can get it up to 100. He held his velocity all spring.”

In his four years at ECU, Williams appeared in 53 games, 17 of them starts, going 11-5 with a 2.65 ERA. He didn't become a full-time starter until his junior year in 2021.

“Pete Loizzo, our scout in the Carolinas, did a great job in getting to know Gavin," Barnsby said. "People around him talk about the competitor he is, the work ethic and the drive he has."

Coming out of Cape Fear High in Fayetteville, N.C., Williams was selected by the Rays in the 30th round of the 2017 draft but chose to go to college instead.

“He has two breaking balls, two power breaking balls,” Barnsby said. “We figure he’s going to get swing-and-miss with his fastball, curveball and slider. He hasn’t had to use his change as much, but we feel there’s a fit there as well.

“We envision him as a starter. He’s an extreme competitor. He always wants to be the best player on the field and to compete against the best.” (Jim Ingraham - Baseball America - Sept., 2021)

Williams' fastball remains his primary weapon as he can approach triple digits after several innings of work.  His curveball suddenly gained more power and better shape in 2021 with some eye-popping metrics, and his previously lackluster slider is now an offering that shows flashes of becoming solid. He has maintained his aptitude for throwing a changeup, giving him four legitimate pitches.

Strong and athletic, Williams cleaned up his delivery during his time at East Carolina but didn't provide regular strikes until this spring. He looked on the verge of a breakout in the fall of 2019 but broke the ring finger on his right hand during a rundown drill and barely got the chance to pitch as a junior. A year later, he looks like a potential mid-rotation starter. (Spring 2021) 

2021 Season: Williams was a first-round pick in the 2021 draft out of East Carolina. Injuries derailed him the past two seasons, but in 2021 he was able to show he still has plenty of promise. Last season, he made fifteen starts and pitched 88 innings. He was 10-1 with an ERA under two and 130 strikeouts. He did so well, he was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the year and also received All-American honors.

He can also hit triple digits, and his average fastball is the same as Espino’s. His pitch mix is similar to Espino’s as well, with a curveball in the 70s and a slider that can reach the mid 80s. He also has the changeup, which is better than Espino’s. It’s difficult to say where he will start, but rookie ball or Low-A seems likely. If all goes well, he profiles as a mid-rotation starter in the big leagues.  ( Darren Klein - Feb. 6, 2022)

2022 Hottest Pitching Prospect in Guardians System: Gavin Williams

Williams has made this list in each of his first two months on the mound in pro ball. The East Carolina product has given up just three earned runs in his last five High-A starts with 38 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings and ranks sixth in the Minors in ERA (1.40) and 10th in opponent average (.167). His best pitch is his fastball, which carries mid-90s velocity deep into games and touches 100 mph, and he also owns a solid changeup. (Callis, Mayo and Dykstra - MLB.com - June 7, 2022)

2023 Hottest pitching prospect in the Guardians system: Gavin Williams, RHP (No. 1/MLB No. 17)

Williams led the Minors in opponent average (.173) and ranked third in ERA (1.96) during his 2022 pro debut, and he has lowered those numbers to 1.58 and .154 between Double-A and Triple-A this year. The 2021 first-rounder from East Carolina has a 2.10 ERA and 36 strikeouts in his last 25 2/3 Triple-A innings, continuing to dominate with a mid-90s fastball and three solid secondary pitches.

Williams has an excellent, excellent fastball. He gets good ride on a ton of velo, with just enough side-to-side wiggle to make it stand out. His curveball has big movement, but that was also the pitch that Ryan Noda took deep. In the next start, it might be likely that Williams focuses more on the fastball and slider with more occasional changeups and curves, but it’s also likely that his excellent fastball will help him make the most of his opportunities, however long they may be. (Sarris - Jun 23, 2023 - The Athletic)

Aug. 7, 2023: Williams' 12 strikeouts were the most by a Cleveland rookie since Luis Tiant struck out 12 on Aug. 18, 1964. Williams allowed just one hit and one walk in seven shutout innings. (Akron Beacon Journal)

Aug. 12, 2023: Williams became just the third rookie in Cleveland franchise history to record 10 or more strikeouts in back-to-back starts. You may know the other two. They are Herb Score who did it back in 1955 and Bob Feller in 1936.

2023 Season: Williams didn't pitch as often as Bibee this year and is still a bit more raw, but the potential is definitely there. Over 16 starts, he went 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP and 81 strikeouts in 82 innings. He also showed a lot of progress towards the end of the season with a 2.50 ERA over his last four starts, potentially setting him up for a big 2024.

He needs to cut down on his walk rate a bit (4.1 BB/9), but if he can do that the sky's the limit. His stuff is pretty unhittable, as evidenced by his .219/.310/.368 opponent batting line.

Even if William doesn't bring the walks down, he'll still be a quality mid-rotation arm. (Tyler Maher | Oct 7, 2023)

2024 Season: On a team short of starting pitching, Gavin Williams is a very important player for the Guardians’ future. What did we learn about him in 2024?

After pitching in two Spring Training games, Williams hurt his elbow in weighted-ball training and didn’t appear in a Guardians uniform until July 3. Not ideal for either the big North Carolinian hurler or for his team struggling to replace Shane Bieber and hapless Triston McKenzie.

Upon return, Williams’ velocity was up on all his pitches and he added a cut fastball to his mix. Good news, right? Well, not really as his fastball value declined by 2 runs and his killer slider from 2023 was mostly ineffective. Interestingly, Williams’ K/BB per 9 increased from 2023-2024, improving from 8.89/4.06 to 9.36/3.79 and his FIP declined from 4.05 to 3.67. He allowed a .308 Batting Average on Balls in Play of .308 in 2024 as compared with a .278 BABIP in 2023. So, he was just unlucky right?

Well, not entirely. Williams’ allowed a 44% hard hit rate in 2024 as compared to a 39% rate in 2023, and his barrel rate allowed also increased by 1.5%. He allowed more hard contact and more contact in general as his contact rate allowed went up by 4.4%. Under the hood, he was unlucky in terms of his slider which was actually a better pitch in 2024 and hitters just managed to find ways to get it in play more often, but his fastball quality declined from 12 points above average in Stuff+ to 3 points below average, and his changeup quality declined from 36 points above average in Stuff+ to 34(!) points below average. However, Williams only throws his changeup 5% of the time, so, although it’s not measuring as a good pitch, it’s not dramatically impacting his outcome. It’s fastball issues, a pitch he throws over 50% of the time, that hurt Williams the most.

But, analyzing Williams’ fastball doesn’t give clear reasoning for its decline in value as his spin rates, horizontal and vertical break, and induced vertical break remained constant from 2023-2024. The primary issue for Williams’ fastball seems to be that teams were able to determine more often when they would get a fastball in the zone and made him pay for it when they did. This aligns with the 11% decline in his usage of his slider which was his best “out-pitch” in 2023. Williams held off on throwing his slider as he eased his way back from the elbow injury and it led to hitters being able to more effectively guess when his fastball would be coming and time up their swings accordingly.

When it’s all said and done, I feel fairly confident that if Williams is healthy in 2025, we should see some significant improvement in his pitching results. Adding a cutter was an excellent attempt to help keep hitters off balance in terms of hunting his fastball; he and the team should embrace this development and continue it. The big issue for Big Rig is regaining control of his slider (his command of the pitch DRAMATICALLY declined in 2024) and being confident enough to throw the pitch more often, something closer to 25% in the coming season.

Williams got a brief chance to pitch in the playoffs after almost two weeks off of pitching and he was understandably rusty in the first inning, but flashed his capabilities after that, striking out four and allowing zero walks. I think, in hindsight, giving Williams the start that the team gave the clearly compromised Alex Cobb in the Detroit series would have served their chances of advancing far better. But, this is Monday Morning quarterbacking; I understand why they trusted the veteran, proven option in Cobb.

Hopefully, in 2025, the training wheels will be fully off Gavin by the time a playoff berth may arrive and if he can improve on the 4.13 FIP projected for him by Steamer with an increased command of an excellent slider to get more whiffs, he should be someone we are comfortable seeing in a Game 2 or game 3 of a playoff series. (Quincy Wheeler - Dec 4, 2024)

Gavin Williams always had the potential to be the ace of the staff, but injuries stalled his development once he reached the big-league level. Finally, in 2025, Williams became the pitcher the Cleveland Guardians always knew he could be. The right-hander finished the year with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 31 starts, while looking like one of the best arms in baseball after the All-Star Break.

Williams’ calling card always has been, and always will be, his elite velocity on his four-seam fastball, but there was one pitch the Big Rig added to his arsenal for the 2025 season that made him an elite pitcher, and that was the sweeper. 

Per Baseball Savant, Williams hadn’t thrown a sweeper in an MLB game before the 2025 season, but it ended up making up 19.9 percent of all the pitches he threw last season, and it was more than just another successful pitch; Williams’ sweeper made him an elite pitcher.

The sweeper was, at times, completely untouchable by opposing hitters, making it the perfect two-strike pitch for Williams to throw. The pitch had a strike rate of 42.4 percent, a put-away rate of 35.9 percent, and an MLB-leading whiff rate of 44 percent. Needless to say, all those numbers ranked the best out of any pitch in Williams’ mix. 

A perfect example of how effective this pitch was came in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. Williams took the ball for the Guardians and threw 6.0 innings, giving up no earned runs, issuing one walk, and striking out eight batters.

Of those eight punch-outs, four of them came on the sweeper, and the pitch generated 10 strikes,

Again, the reason the sweeper was so efficient was because of how well it complemented Williams’ fastball. The sweeper’s 86.5 mph average, compared with the 96.6 mph heater, makes it extremely difficult for hitters to pick up the timing of it. 

It truly is the perfect off-speed pitch to pair with the heater and should continue to be a key piece to Williams' success moving forward. (Tommy Wild - Nov. 28, 2025 - GuardiansRoundtable)

April 1, 2026: Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams was nearly untouchable, leading a 4-1 win over the Dodgers to clinch the series at Dodger Stadium.

Williams struck out 10 batters over seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, both singles to Andy Pages, and three walks while throwing 85 pitches. He induced 16 swings and misses and limited hard contact to just three balls.

It was a milestone performance for the 26-year-old, who became just the third pitcher in franchise history to record double-digit strikeouts against the Dodgers, joining CC Sabathia (2008) and Corey Kluber (2017).  (Abdullah Imran - ClutchPoints)

According to Just Baseball, that combination allowed Williams to make MLB history, as he became just the fourth pitcher to strike out at least 25 batters while allowing fewer than six hits in his first three starts of any season.

“The only pitchers in MLB history with 25+ strikeouts and 5 or fewer hits allowed in their first three starts of the season: 2019 Luis Castillo; 2019 Mike Clevinger; 2021 Corbin Burnes; 2026 Gavin Williams. Williams has been DEALING to start the year!” Just Baseball wrote on X.  (Mike Battaglino - Guardians Nation)

2020 Season: Williams was limited to just two relief appearances after suffering a fractured finger.

Aug 29, 2023: Williams left his start after one inning with right knee soreness after his knee buckled on the first pitch of the at-bat against Jorge Polanco.

“Yeah, [my knee] buckled a little bit, caught a spike and just fell down,” Williams said, adding that he isn’t too concerned about the injury.

March 14-June 30, 2024: Williams was on the IL after experiencing some discomfort in his right elbow.

Williams made an awkward throw during his weighted-ball workout and felt discomfort in his throwing elbow.