Gavin Williams Welcomes American League Foe and Dominates Kansas City on Tuesday

Gavin Williams is looking like one of the league's best pitchers to begin the 2026 campaign.

Following three starts against the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals, Williams is up to a 2.12 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and measly .098 batting average against, to begin the year. He's also posting 25 total strikeouts and just five total hits allowed. Oddly enough, two of those five hits have gone the distance.

That level of productivity is helping the Guardians stay in games, even when the hits seem to be few and far between.

On Tuesday, April 7, Williams received the start for the Guardians against the Royals in frigid, 33-degree weather that actually felt like 25 degrees. It certainly wasn't favorable conditions, especially for early April, but the 26-year-old was able to settle in nicely and keep the Guardians in the game.

"That was a gutsy performance," Vogt said. "I thought by both he and [Noah] Cameron. I mean, tough day to pitch, tough day to get feel. But I thought Gavin battled. I mean, the one hard hit ball, the home run, outside of that, they couldn’t really get anything going.

"Obviously, a few more walks than Gavin would have liked, but one run, five and two-thirds, you can never ask for anything more than that."

He finished the contest with 5.2 innings pitched with over 100 pitches thrown. He allowed just one hit, which was a home run, and five walks, all while striking out eight batters. While his command was a bit shaky at times, he continued to show Cleveland he's their best arm.

But this type of efficiency from Williams should come as no surprise, especially against American League Central opponents. Across 25 starts against such foes, heading into Tuesday, Williams had gone 9-6 with a 2.65 ERA. His ERA against the AL Central is the lowest against any other division he's gone against while on the mound.

While it may just be a simple coincidence, it does show that when going up against tough opponents, ones that could end up knocking the Guardians out of postseason opportunities, he's dialed in.

"He misses bats," Vogt said. "I mean, he’s got the stuff to miss bats. And, you know, obviously in a perfect world, we’d love him to never walk anyone... like that’s anybody. But Gavin’s got the stuff to get himself out of it. And, you know, he’s a nice place behind him as well. But like I said, I thought that was an outstanding performance."

This season, Williams is looking like he can be the Guardians' ace. All he has to do is continue to show consistency while on the mound.

His best game of the year came against the Los Angeles Dodgers last week, where he pitched through seven innings, striking out a staggering 10 batters while walking three and allowing just two hits. He didn't give up a single run, helping the Guardians pull out a win, 4-1.

Over the past two seasons, he's begun to trend in the right direction in numerous statistical categories. His ERA and WHIP are down, while his total strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings are up.

As long as he can start avoiding giving up the home run ball, something he seemingly isn't able to escape right now, he'll continue to make the case that he deserves to be in the Cy Young conversation by the end of the year.