The Cleveland Guardians shocked the world in 2025. Stephen Vogt’s team had no business making the playoffs, let alone winning the division.
However, the Guardians kept fighting and pushing through adversity. They also made the most of a huge meltdown by the Detroit Tigers to swoop right in and take the AL Central divisional pennant.
Still, with one of the worst offenses in all of baseball, they had to rely heavily on what they could get on the mound. Even with Emmanuel Clase out, they still had an elite bullpen, and their starting rotation was more than good.
Unfortunately for them, MLB analyst Chris Towers doesn’t think they will be able to sustain that over the long run. At least, that will be the case with Gavin Williams.
In his latest column, he claimed that he didn’t trust Williams to keep up the good momentum.
If anything, he thinks he’s a prime ‘bust’ candidate for next season:
“This is one I reserve the right to change my mind about. For nearly the entire season, Williams looked like he was way in over his head, and the underlying numbers back it up: Just compare that sparkling 3.06 ERA to the 4.28 xERA, 4.39 FIP, or 4.35 SIERA for confirmation. That’s enough to slap the “bust” tag on him, right?” Towers wrote.
Of course, fantasy baseball is one thing, and actual baseball is another thing. His underlying metrics might not justify taking him as an early-round draft pick in fantasy, but he should still be good in real life.
While he may not have lived up to the hype that surrounded him for most of the early stages of his career, Gavin Williams has still been solid and reliable more often than not.
Granted, he’s not an AL Cy Young candidate, but he should still give this team more than enough more often than not.
NEXT: Insider Reveals How Khal Stephen Will Fit Into Guardians 2026 Plans
