A big percentage of the Cleveland Guardians’ fanbase asked for more starting pitching help after it was revealed that Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd would continue their careers elsewhere.
This was still the case even after the team added Shane Bieber, Luis L. Ortiz, Slade Cecconi, Vince Velazquez, Kolby Allard, and Jakob Junis.
Yes, most of those names are more depth options than mound stars, but let’s not forget about the Guardians’ player development staff as well as their trainers.
Getting the best versions of their own pitchers was also a priority, one in which these professionals worked quietly, but tirelessly.
You can see the results of that hard work by taking a glimpse at Gavin Williams’ spring debut on Wednesday.
The guy was flat-out dominant for two innings, striking out three batters and not allowing any hits or walks.
The fastball was lively, sitting in the 97 mph range and touching 98.2 mph.
Researcher Thomas Nestico added some exciting information about how Williams’ repertoire looked.
“It looks like Williams has changed up his slider yet again, and this time it might be even better! The offering is a few ticks slower but its getting significantly more sweep and drop than last season. Oh, and his fastball is still great,” he posted on X, with a graph of the outing, velocity, pitch shape, movement, and location information.
Gavin Williams made his Spring debut!
It looks like Williams has changed up his slider yet again, and this time it might be even better! The offering is a few ticks slower but it getting significantly more sweep and drop than last season
Oh, and his fastball is still great! pic.twitter.com/hHtZYzbP5Y
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) February 26, 2025
Williams’ slider was already good, but it could be elite now.
Pair that with his high-90s heat and the Guardians could have a sneaky top-of-the-rotation arm in 2025.
Williams, who delivered a 3.29 ERA as a rookie in 2023, slipped to a 4.86 mark last year amid elbow issues.
Now that he’s fully healthy, Cleveland will unleash him to the rest of the league.
NEXT: Guardians Relief Pitching Prospect Might Need Surgery
