Guardians' Gavin Williams Has Revitalized Confidence Heading Into Season Debut

This time last year, Gavin Williams and the Cleveland Guardians medical team were figuring out a plan to get the starting pitcher healthy while the rest of the team headed out for Opening Day.

Fast forward to 2025, Williams is with the team for the first series of the season, and looks like the best version of himself through spring training.

Williams is scheduled to make his season debut on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals, and he's heading into the start with newfound confidence after an injury-filled 2024.

"The whole Spring Training made me feel good, especially [after] all the work I put in in the offseason. Seeing it pay off has definitely helped out. It's a confidence boost. I know how my stuff is playing," said Williams (via MLB.com's Tim Stebbins).

Gavin Williams prepares to throw a pitch — Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams (32) delivers to the plate in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Williams was easily one of the standout players for the Guardians down in Arizona, finishing the spring with a 2.08 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 26 strikeouts in five starts (17.1 innings pitched).

Stephen Vogt mentioned numerous times during training camp how much life he's seen on Williams' pitches, something that just wasn't there last year.

There's never been any doubt over Williams' pitch-mix, and now it's all starting to come together.

Williams continued, "I think it's just more of a momentum thing, especially coming off a good spring. So just taking it into the season, knowing that I've got some good stuff, that's going to be my mindset the whole season."

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