RADIO
Gavin Williams is a fantasy baseball trade target for Week 9 (2025). Is Gavin Williams a fantasy baseball buy or sell? Read the trade analysis and advice.
BALLER MOVE: Sell Gavin Williams
ANALYSIS: Fantasy managers started to notice Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams during the spring. He allowed just four runs across 17 1/3 innings pitched in spring training to go with 26 strikeouts and just four walks. Williams, though, was the opposite of that pitcher to begin the regular season.
He had a 5.14 ERA, 14 walks, and 28 strikeouts in his first six starts in 2025. Some of those outings included allowing five earned runs with four walks across six 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles on April 16 and giving up four runs on seven hits with two walks across just two innings against the Minnesota Twins on April 28.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:- Fantasy baseball trade analyzer
- BvP matchups data (Batter vs. Pitcher)
- PvB matchups data (Pitcher vs. Batter)
- Who should I start? Fantasy baseball comparisons
- Daily MLB starting lineups
- Fantasy baseball closer depth charts
- Fantasy Baseball live scoreboard
- Fantasy baseball injury reports
However, Williams has been a much more efficient pitcher in recent outings. He has a 2.25 ERA and 29 strikeouts over his first four starts in May and just tossed six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts against the Twins on Wednesday. The re-emergence of his cutter has been a large reason why the Guardians pitcher has found some success on the mound as of late.
Williams took a slight step back in his most recent outing against a potent Dodger lineup. In this outing, he allowed four runs and four hits across 4 2/3 innings of work.
🚨Gavin Williams is throwing Cutters as his #2 pitch. 🚨
THIS IS NOT A DRILL pic.twitter.com/OZ9zxuFz3B
— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) May 21, 2025
While some fantasy managers might believe that Williams' recent numbers are here to stay, it's best to trade away the right-hander before his next start. He's allowing a ton of hard contact this season while walking batters at an extremely high rate. The 25-year-old has walked multiple batters in eight of his 10 starts and currently carries a 12.4% walk rate.
As a result, he likely won't be able to maintain a low ERA for most of the season.
- Written by Joey Pollizze
Visit Our Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer To Assist Your Trade Offers
Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer Tool
Want more fantasy baseball trade advice? Visit our free Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer tool to assist with your trade offers. The Trade Analyzer tool allows you to add up to three players on each side of a trade and calculate whether it is fair or not in standard leagues. You instantly get a recommendation which side of the trade is a better deal.
The Trade Analyzer tool will display various information side by side for you to compare the players involved in any trade and help you make better decisions. Compare projections and stats, read the latest fantasy baseball news, and see upcoming schedules.
More Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice
5 Potential Fantasy Baseball Busts for 2nd Half - Hitters to Avoid Down The Stretch?
During the first half of the fantasy baseball season, we saw many hitters emerge as must-start options. Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz has become a must-start first baseman, while Pete Crow-Armstrong is an MVP favorite. However, these hot starts often fade by the end of the season. It is crucial to know when to sell […]
5 Second Half Fantasy Baseball Trade Targets - Risers to Target for the Home Stretch (2025)
After a wild real-life baseball trade deadline that saw one of the top closers in baseball, Mason Miller, and prospects like Leodalis De Vries swap teams as the San Diego Padres look to make a deep run in October, it is time to begin to take a deep dive into our fantasy rosters. Many fantasy […]
5 Second Half Fantasy Baseball Bust Candidates: Starting Pitchers to Avoid (2025)
In fantasy sports, we constantly find ourselves assessing and reassessing players' fantasy values throughout the season. Baseball has such a long season that we have many opportunities to do this; some may even argue we do it too often. But a player's value can fluctuate as wildly as the stock market from week to week. […]
Second Half Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Breakout Candidates - Underperformers To Buy Low
With the first half of the season in the books, now is the perfect time to look at which players are set to bounce back in the second half. These players didn't have the best first half, but all five of the pitchers featured below are worth trading for in most fantasy leagues during the […]
Second Half Fantasy Baseball Breakout Candidates - Underperforming Hitters To Buy Low
Every MLB team has now played at least 95 games, meaning the season is nearly 60% complete. One trend we’ve noticed this year is a large number of underperforming hitters, especially from the first 10 rounds of fantasy drafts. There’s still time to move up the standings, but we’ll need some of those players to […]
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!
