Facing MLB heat, top prospect Williams undeterred

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The top shortstop prospect in all of baseball showed he could hit top-level pitching Wednesday afternoon in Fort Myers.

Carson Williams, the Rays¡¯ No. 1 prospect and No. 9 overall according to MLB Pipeline, stepped into the box against Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet to lead off the top of the second inning at JetBlue Park.

Williams, 21, could have been intimidated by the 6-foot-6 flamethrower who just struck out the side and was hitting triple digits, according to the radar gun. He could have been discouraged after chasing a low breaking ball and going down 0-2 in the count. Instead, Williams kept a sound approach and cracked a fastball to deep left-center for a double that one-hopped the wall in front of the 379-foot marker to the right of the Green Monster.

¡°Stay on the heater,¡± Williams said of his approach against Crochet. ¡°He throws too hard not to. That¡¯s why his offspeed plays so well, that¡¯s because his fastball is elite. I tried to stay on the heater as best I could, and he ended up putting one out over the plate.¡±

As for how it felt to step into the box against a pitcher of that caliber, Williams said, ¡°I think that ¡®compete¡¯ mode just turns on. It¡¯s an honor to step on the field with these guys. Hopefully, I do it for a very long time, but when you¡¯re going up against them, you¡¯ve got to just give them your best.¡±

While it¡¯s been a quiet camp thus far for the 2021 first-round Draft selection (No. 28 overall), the belief is only on the rise. Williams had an outstanding 2024 campaign with Double-A Montgomery, both offensively and defensively, in the Southern League.

"He's an exciting player," said manager Kevin Cash. "I can't imagine coming into big league camp and having that top-five label on you as a big prospect. We saw it with [Junior Caminero]. There's added pressures that come with that. Carson is going to get plenty of at-bats here moving forward through spring to settle him in. I know he's put a lot of good work in the cage that he feels good about. Our view on Carson has only gotten stronger over these last three weeks."

Across 115 games last season for the Biscuits, Williams recorded 111 hits and slashed .256/.352/.469 with 20 home runs, 33 stolen bases, 20 doubles, six triples, 83 runs and 69 RBIs. He led the Southern League in triples, RBIs and runs scored.

The pop is there for the 6-foot-2 California native, as he¡¯s posted a slugging percentage of .478 across four Minor League seasons (354 games).

Now that Williams' hitting prowess has been discussed, let's move to the most highly touted part of his game: his defense.

Among MLB Pipeline's top-10 shortstops across the Minors, Williams ranks the highest when it comes to fielding with a 70 grade. His arm is next-level, as he was looked at as a pitcher back when he was drafted.

"The arm strength is as good as any shortstop in baseball right now," Cash said. "The power combination, the play up the middle is pretty special."

Williams' glove is smooth, and his hands are quick, with a Minor League Gold Glove under his belt. In the seventh inning of the Rays¡¯ 4-2 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday, he covered second base as Miguel Bleis attempted to steal second. The throw from catcher Kenny Piper came in low and on a line, and Williams, all in one motion, picked the ball and placed the tag on Bleis to record an out.

One aspect of Williams¡¯ game that could use some fine-tuning is his pitch selection as it correlates to his strikeout percentage. He likes to swing at breaking balls out of the zone, as he displayed in a few at-bats on Wednesday, though he did not not strike out in four trips to the plate.

¡°My head¡¯s at just getting better every day,¡± Williams said. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep harping on my defense, it¡¯s what I love to do. And my offense is the main focus and making sure I¡¯m as efficient as possible.¡±

Williams has seen his total number of strikeouts decrease each year from 2022-24, though the club would still like to see the 28.5-percent clip at which he struck out last season continue to shrink.

As for the overall crop of prospects in camp for the Rays -- which includes No. 2 Xavier Isaac, No. 3 Brayden Taylor, No. 4 Tre¡¯ Morgan and No. 7 Chandler Simpson -- Cash said: "It's exciting. All of those guys, we heard about them pretty frequently last year throughout our season. Now to get to see them out on the field interacting with some of the more established players, certainly feels like eventually they're going to fit right in really well."