RADIO
Gavin Williams 2024 Player Outlook: Luck Driven 2023 May Be Hard To Repeat
11 months agoCleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams is one of the more exciting young right-handers in the game. A former first-round pick who's 24 and was a top prospect, Williams had a good 2023 on the surface. A 3.29 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts in 82 innings shows the promise Williams has. All wasn't as rosy under the hood, however, and Williams has some things to improve on if he wants to duplicate last season's numbers. His xERA, xBA, and K% were all near league average. The 6-foot-6-inch righty was in the bottom fourth of the league in Chase %, BB %, and GB %. Combine that with a little luck, a .270 BABIP and a 9.2% HR/FB rate, and Williams has some work to do before making a breakthrough at the major league level. A 4.53 xFIP and 4.61 SIERA show how lucky Williams was in 2023. There's no saying Williams can't repeat his outcome from last season, he has the pedigree and stuff to do so, he'll just have to improve in some areas. Williams suffered an injury to his elbow in the middle of March and will start the season on the IL. It isn't thought to be serious and the youngster could debut towards the end of April.
