On a team short of starting pitching, Gavin Williams is a very important player for the Guardians’ future. What did we learn about him in 2024?
After pitching in two Spring Training games, Williams hurt his elbow in weighted-ball training and didn’t appear in a Guardians uniform until July 3rd. Not ideal for either the big North Carolinan hurler or for his team struggling to replace Shane Bieber and hapless Triston McKenzie. Upon return, Williams’ velocity was up on all his pitches and he added a cut fastball to his mix. Good news, right? Well, not really as his fastball value declined by 2 runs and his killer slider from 2023 was mostly ineffective.