RADIO
The Cleveland Guardians may have a putrid offense, but the organization certainly flaunts a cornucopia of pitching assets. Not only do the Guardians sport All-Star-caliber talent in the major leagues with Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie, but they also feature a crop of promising arms in their farm system. Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen have already lived up to this moniker in the majors, but Gavin Williams is also waiting in the wings for his chance.
The 23-year-old has mowed down the opposition in the minor leagues, accumulating 62 strikeouts over 46 1/3 innings this season. Williams was virtually untouchable at Double-A Akron to begin the year, attaining a sublime 0.63 ERA with 20 punchouts in 14 1/3 innings.
After moving up to Triple-A Columbus, the right-hander has been mostly unperturbed by the more challenging competition for a still-spectacular 2.25 ERA to go with 42 whiffs across 32 innings at this level. That serves as the extent of the “damage” to Williams' 1.75 ERA overall. The big righty gave up one run or less in his first six starts and he owns a pristine 0.88 WHIP as a whole.
How High Is Gavin Williams' Fantasy Potential?
Cleveland’s top-ranked prospect, per MLB.com, becomes a no-brainer fantasy add the second he gets the call-up, à la Taj Bradley, Eury Perez, and Bobby Miller before him. Williams would offer immediate mixed-league appeal for his hard-tossing stuff and poised command. Perhaps the wins category would act as his only shortcoming; the Guardians are last in run support per nine innings (3.0). Nonetheless, the flame-throwing hurler is already being stashed in nine percent of Yahoo leagues on upside alone.
It's a bit of a surprise that the 2021 first-round pick hasn't been brought up already. After the Guardians lost McKenzie (shoulder) and Aaron Civale (oblique) for an extended time, they bypassed Williams as a fill-in not only for Bibee and Allen but also for Peyton Battenfield and Hunter Gaddis. This suggests that the front office perhaps wants Williams to get more experience at the Triple-A level before a potential call-up.
When Might Gavin Williams Get A Major-League Opportunity?
The East Carolina product could be unlikely to make his major-league debut until the second half of 2023 unless Cleveland's other prospects falter in the interim. With Bibee (2.88 ERA) and Allen (2.72 ERA) showing so well, though, it decreases the likelihood of Williams’ bring-up with starting pitching not a pressing area of need (47% quality start rate) even with McKenzie’s absence.
The Guardians can use all the pitching they can get with their feeble offense, but there might be just too much of a logjam in the rotation to advocate stashing Williams in shallow formats right now. Go for it in deep settings if you’re ahead in your league’s standings with a roster spot to spare at this stage.
It's certainly only a matter of time before Williams' chance, and he may have been called up during the first third of the year if his development timeline matched up accordingly. Expect him to join the parent club by the time rosters expand later this summer, at the latest. Williams would have a shot to play the part of league-winner and beef up fantasy rosters for the stretch run and playoffs in this case.
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