Devin Williams (baseball)

Devin Terran Williams (born September 21, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019.

Devin Williams
Milwaukee Brewers – No. 38
Pitcher
Born: (1994-09-21) September 21, 1994
Florissant, Missouri
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 7, 2019, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics
(through September 25, 2020)
Win–loss record4–1
Earned run average1.55
Strikeouts67
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Career

Williams attended Christian Brothers College High School until his sophomore year when he transferred to Hazelwood West High School in Hazelwood, Missouri. The Brewers selected him in the second round, with the 54th overall selection, of the 2013 MLB draft.[1] He signed with the Brewers for a $1.35 million signing bonus rather than enroll at the University of Missouri.[2] During spring training in 2017, Williams tore the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow. He underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season.[3] In 2019, he was chosen to represent the Brewers at the All-Star Futures Game.[4]

On August 5, 2019, the Brewers selected Williams' contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[5] He made his debut on August 7 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.[6]

Williams was named the NL Reliever of the Month in September 2020. In 13 innings he surrendered just four hits, no runs and 24 strikeouts.[7]

On October 5, 2020, Williams was named Baseball Digest's/eBay Major League Baseball's Relief Pitcher of the Year. Williams had a breakout year finishing with an ERA of 0.33, surrendering just 18 hits in 27 innings and 53 strikeouts. He struck out over half the batters he faced in 22 appearances. He received 12 of the 17 votes.

On November 9, 2020, Williams was named the National League Rookie of the Year, becoming the first relief pitcher to win Rookie of the Year honors since Craig Kimbrel in 2011.[8]

Pitching style

Williams has two primary pitches: 4-seam fastball and a circle changeup with screwball-like movement while rotating the ball off the ring finger during release, which is also similar to a cricket leg-spinner bowling a googly, but at a much faster pace of around 85 mph and with a very high spin-rate of 2852 rpm. He also has a rarely-used cutter and sinker.[9] In 2020, due to the increased movement on the changeup, he increased its usage and often used it as a strikeout pitch.[10] He refers to his changeup as the "Airbender," a nickname coined by Rob Friedman.[11][12]

References
  1. BRENDAN MEYER bmeyer@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8513. "Cubs select Mizzou's Zastryzny, Brewers select Williams in MLB Draft | Cardinal Beat". stltoday.com. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  2. Latsch, Nate (June 15, 2013). "Hazelwood West standout pitcher Williams signs with the Brewers | High School Baseball". stltoday.com. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  3. "Devin Williams, Brewers' top pick in 2013, still has major-league dreams". Jsonline.com. August 21, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  4. McCalvy, Adam (May 24, 2018). "Devin Williams picked to play in Futures Game | Milwaukee Brewers". Mlb.com. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  5. Tom Haudricourt (August 5, 2019). "Zach Davies heads to injured list; Brewers call up relievers Jake Faria, Devin Williams". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  6. Jake Crouse (August 7, 2019). "Hiura leads rout of Bucs with first multi-HR game". MLB.com. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  7. https://www.foxsports.com/wisconsin/story/milwaukee-brewers-devin-williams-named-nl-reliever-of-the-month-092820
  8. "Williams first reliever to win ROY since 2011". MLB.com. November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  9. "Pitch Arsenal". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  10. "Devin Williams - Stats - Pitching | FanGraphs Baseball". www.fangraphs.com. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  11. "Dodgers must contend with the unhittable 'Airbender' pitch of Brewers' Devin Williams". Los Angeles Times. 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  12. Carig, Marc. "The legend of 'Airbender': Devin Williams' — and baseball's — most absurd pitch". The Athletic. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
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