Guardians' Erratic Pitcher Lands Massive Take from Analyst

This erratic Cleveland Guardians pitcher has landed a big take from an analyst heading into the 2025 MLB season.

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams (32) delivers to the plate in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians' starting rotation is full of concerns heading into the 2025 MLB season, and perhaps one of the biggest question marks is Gavin Williams.

Williams is entering a pivotal campaign after missing half of last year due to injury and failing to consistently produce when he returned.

The 25-year-old definitely has great stuff and was considered a top prospect a couple of years ago, but now, some are wondering if the right-hander will ever really figure it out.

Well, count Eno Sannis of The Athletic among those who believes Williams has what it takes to succeed on the big-league level, as he listed the flamethrower among six pitchers he feels could break out this year.

"Williams is trying to throw three breaking balls this spring, a 90-plus mph cutter thing, a deeper slider and his curveball, which is probably enough to deal with lefties and get strikeouts in bunches like he did in the minors, but the biggest reason he’ll break out is batters don’t have enough time to decide what to do — because of that big, booming fastball, released closer to the plate than anyone’s," Sannis wrote.

Williams made 16 starts in 2024, going 3-10 with a 4.86 ERA while allowing 72 hits and registering 79 strikeouts over 76 innings of work.

He had a very impressive strikeout rate in the minors, averaging 11.9 punchouts per nine innings, but he has definitely faded in the majors, with that number dipping to 9.1. The 1.368 WHIP he posted last season is also a bit concerning.

That being said, Williams has only made 32 total starts with the Guardians, so perhaps a full season will allow him to truly flesh out his talent. Let's just hope he can stay healthy.

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