Gavin Williams knows there are more important things going on right now for the Cleveland Guardians. The team is in the midst of two playoff races, trying to chase down the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central while at the same time holding on to the final wild-card position.
So, reflecting on personal achievements will have to wait. But when Williams gets a chance to do so, the right-hander will be rightfully proud of what he might be able to accomplish.
After starting the Guardians’ extra-inning victory on Sunday, Williams reacted to leading MLB in an elite pitching stat, as his 228 strikeouts this season are the best in the game.
“I don’t think that means anything to me,” Williams said. “I think there’s a bigger goal as a team. I don’t really want to look at what I’ve done, but I want to look at what the team has done. Yeah, it’s cool, but there’s a bigger picture, for sure.”
Following 11 strikeouts against the Detroit Tigers, Williams leads Milwaukee Brewers fireballer Jacob Misiorowski by one strikeout. The Guardians’ ace is likely to make three more starts this season, while the Brewers’ star is in line to take the mound again on Tuesday.
Misiorowski could end up missing one of his potential final starts if Milwaukee chooses to rest him as it is headed toward clinching the NL Central in the coming weeks. Cleveland will not have that luxury with Williams, as the Guardians are 2.5 games behind the White Sox in the division and have a one-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays for the final AL wild card. Interestingly, Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease is third in the majors with 221 strikeouts.
According to MLB.com, Williams has reached double-digit strikeouts 11 times this season, which makes him the fifth Cleveland pitcher to reach those numbers. The others were Bob Feller (1946), Sam McDowell (1965, 1968), Herb Score (1956) and Corey Kluber (2014, 2017).
Last season, Williams posted a career high with 173 strikeouts in 31 starts and 167.2 innings. He has impressively been able to cut down on his walks while increasing his strikeouts this season, improving his K/BB ratio from 2.1 in 2025 to 4.3 in 2026.
Williams is scheduled to make his next start on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins, which, if that holds, would mean he would not pitch in an upcoming three-game series against the White Sox from Sept. 14-16.
NEXT: Stephen Vogt Shares Honest Take On Guardians’ Dramatic Weekend
