GAVIN SCOTT WILLIAMS¡Became the first college pitcher that Cleveland has drafted in the first round since 2010 (Drew Pomeranz)...Pitched in parts of four seasons for the East Carolina Pirates, going 11-5 with a 2.65 ERA across 53 Collegiate games/17 starts (149.1IP, 108H, 47R/ ER, 7HR, 53BB, 200SO)...Went 10-1 in '21 with a 1.88 ERA (17ER/81.1IP) to earn placement on six different All-America teams in addition to being selected as a finalist for both the Dick Howser and Golden Spike Awards¡Struck out 13 Vanderbilt Commodores in 7.1 IP in the 2021 Super Regional... Graduated from Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, N.C. in 2017....Ranked 141st nationally in the final 2017 Perfect Game class rankings. While in town for the 2024 Guards Fest, he visited a Guardians RBI combined indoor winter practice where he spent time getting to know the kids, held a Q/A session and shared his experiences with the aspiring baseball and softball players.
2023
After entering the season as Cleveland¡¯s Consensus No. 2 prospect (Baseball America), Williams impressed in his rookie season, going 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA (30ER/82.0IP) in 16 starts for Cleveland¡Following his promotion to the Major League level on June 21, he was second on the team in ERA (3.29), strikeouts (81) and opposing average (.219)...Made his Major League debut on June 21 against Oakland, allowing 4 runs (4ER) over 5.2 innings, a 7-6 Cleveland win¡Allowed one hit over 7.0-shutout innings with six strikeouts and one walk in his second career start at Kansas City on June 27, a 2-1 victory¡Became just the second pitcher in franchise history to throw 7.0+ innings with one or fewer hits allowed within their first two Major League games¡The other was Addie Joss in 1902 (9.0IP, 1H). Despite an 0-2 record in six road starts, Williams recorded a 2.48 ERA (8ER/29.0IP) while handcuffing hitters to a .188 average...His .188 opposing batting average ranked seventh in the American League while his 2.48 ERA ranked eighth in the AL over the span...On Aug. 7, in a 3-1 loss against Toronto, he twirled 7.0-scoreless IP with 12 SO (7.0IP, 1H, 0R/ER, 1BB, 12SO), becoming the first player in CLE franchise history and just the 12th rookie pitcher in MLB history w/an outing of 12+SO and one or fewer hits allowed, last done by Jack Flaherty (13SO, 1H) on June 22, 2018 for St. Louis against Milwaukee¡12 strikeouts were the most by a Cleveland rookie since Luis Tiant in 1964 vs. Kansas City(AL) and T6th-most by a rookie in a game in franchise history¡The outing came amidst a six-start stretch (July 15-August 12) where the rookie did not allow three-or-more earned runs in an outing, posting a 1.80 ERA (6ER/30.0IP), sixth in MLB. Received four or more runs of support in just four of his 16 outings, while receiving two or fewer runs of support nine of his 16 starts, including five starts with zero runs of support. Opened up the season at AA Akron and was effective in his three starts¡After posting a 0.63 ERA in three starts and notching an AL Pitcher of the Week award, he was promoted to AAA Columbus following his start on April 20, making nine starts to record a MiLB ERA of 2.39 in 2023¡Over his Minor League career, he owns an 11.81 SO/9 and 3.SO/BB.
2022
Began his career at High-A Lake County, making a total of nine starts¡Went 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA (7ER/45.0IP) with 67 strikeouts and 14 walks¡Allowed two-plus earned runs in just one start on 4/15 vs. Dayton, his second pro start¡Promoted to AA Akron following his outing on 6/3¡Boasted a 2.31 ERA (18ER/70.0IP), second in the Eastern League behind his teammate Tanner Bibee (1.83), with 82 strikeouts and 26 walks¡among Eastern League pitchers (min 70.0IP) he finished with the second-lowest opposing average (.176), second-lowest H/9 (5.66) and ninth-highest SO/9 (10.54).
