Gavin Williams Hoping To Use This Pitch More In Sophomore Season With Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians trio of rookie pitchers put a lot of teams on notice last season. Gavin Williams was arguably the most hyped of that bunch as they made their way through the farm system and he finally got the call-up in June.
Even though Williams has reached the level he's always dreamed of, he didn't go into the offseason satisfied. In an interview with 19 News Cleveland, Gavin revealed what he worked on during the winter.
"I haven't added any pitches, but I've worked on my changeup just a little bit," said Williams. "Hopefully, I can throw that a little bit more this year than I did last year."
Out of Gavin's four-pitch mix, his changeup is the one he threw the fewest number of times during his rookie year. Williams only tossed it 78 times and the pitch had an opponent batting average of .353.
Adding a consistent changeup to the mix could elevate Willliams' potential even more than it already is. He's always been known as a fastball first pitcher and he found plenty of success with that pitch in 2023 while also maintaining a respectable slider and curveball.
However, as hitters see more of Gavin's stuff, they're going to wait on that fastball more and more. But if he can add this changeup in from time to time, batters will only be able to guess the speed and movement of how the ball is coming out of his hand.
Sep 17, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams (63) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field.
© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Gavin finished his rookie season with a 3.29 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 23.5 K%. There are so many reasons to like what he can bring to the table next season and beyond.
Williams has only made 16 big league starts, but he's already adapting to stay ahead of the competition. This is a quality of someone who's going to be picking in the majors for a long time.
