There are dozens of pitchers present in the Cleveland Guardians’ camp in Goodyear, Arizona, trying to prove their worth and win a spot.
You can be sure that none of them has been more impressive than Gavin Williams, though.
After posting a 4.86 ERA last year in an injury-plagued campaign, Williams is now fully healthy, locked, and loaded.
On Sunday, he extended his spring dominance with another brilliant outing that invites Guardians fans to dream.
Seven strikeouts in 3.2 innings? That'll play, Gav.#GuardsSpring pic.twitter.com/KqAiWFNEMH
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) March 9, 2025
Seven strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
You can almost say that Williams is already in mid-season form.
He surrendered just two hits and a walk in the masterpiece, and no runs scored on his watch.
Williams stretched out to 53 pitches in his start, 35 of which were strikes.
Another outing or two and he should be ready to pitch five or six frames when the real games start counting.
After Sunday’s game, he has a 1.13 spring ERA with 16 punchouts in eight frames.
The righty had posted a 3.29 ERA as a rookie in 2023 but suffered an elbow injury while working out during 2024’s spring training.
That delayed his season debut and affected his performance.
This time, he was able to enjoy a normal offseason and you can easily see it: he is touching 98 and 99 mph frequently, and his excellent curveball looks deadly.
A healthy, motivated Williams has ace potential: some even say he has more upside than Tanner Bibee.
That’s, of course, debatable, as we are talking about two brilliant young pitchers.
The important thing is that both of them are currently healthy and looking to enjoy a nice season at the top of the Guardians’ rotation.
If they both produce as expected, Cleveland will be able to navigate the early portion of the season with Shane Bieber out.
NEXT: Guardians Reliever Continues To Work His Way Back From Injury
