Gavin Williams has already carved out a spot among Cleveland’s elite strikeout pitchers this season, but a new report suggests he could be on the verge of something even more exclusive. The Athletic’s Zack Meisel detailed just how close Williams is to joining one of the smallest and most decorated clubs in franchise history.
Williams enters the stretch run with 204 strikeouts on the season, a total that already ranks third in the American League. Reaching 250 strikeouts in a single season would place him alongside just six other pitchers in Cleveland history to ever hit that mark, a list that stretches back more than a century of franchise baseball.
“6: Pitchers in Cleveland’s 250-strikeout club. Gavin Williams has a chance to be No. 7. Here’s the list of those to tally 250 strikeouts in a season in franchise history, which dates to 1901: Shane Bieber (2019) Corey Kluber (2014, 2017) Sam McDowell (1965, 1968, 1969, 1970) Luis Tiant (1968) Herb Score (1956) Bob Feller (1940, 1941, 1946). Williams will make at least six more starts this season — and could make seven if they keep him on regular rest, despite a series of upcoming off days,” Meisel wrote.
The names already in that club read like a who is who of Cleveland pitching history. Shane Bieber reached the mark in 2019, Corey Kluber did it twice, in 2014 and 2017, and Sam McDowell accomplished the feat four separate times between 1965 and 1970. Luis Tiant joined the group in 1968, Herb Score did it in 1956, and Bob Feller reached 250 strikeouts three times across the 1940s. It is a list defined by some of the most dominant arms this franchise has ever produced.
Williams needs 46 more strikeouts over his final six or seven starts to get there, a total that would require him to average close to seven strikeouts per outing the rest of the way. He has shown that kind of upside throughout the season, including a stretch where he became the 14th pitcher in franchise history to reach 200 strikeouts, joined by only two other pitchers in all of baseball this year in Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski and Toronto’s Dylan Cease.
Tuesday’s outing against the Angels was a rare rough patch, with Williams allowing five runs in just 1 and 1 third innings, but his season body of work remains strong at 12 and 7 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Cleveland’s remaining schedule and off days will determine whether he gets six or seven more turns through the rotation, a detail that could ultimately decide whether he has enough starts left to reach the milestone.
With the Guardians riding a six-game winning streak and holding onto playoff position, every start Williams makes down the stretch will carry weight for both the team and his own place in franchise history. Joining a list that includes names like Feller, Score and Bieber would be a fitting way to cap off one of the more impressive individual seasons in recent Cleveland memory.
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