Sam McWilliams

Samuel Rutherford McWilliams (born September 4, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Sam McWilliams
McWilliams with the GCL Phillies in 2014
New York Mets
Pitcher
Born: (1995-09-04) September 4, 1995
Orlando, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Career

McWilliams attended Beech High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where he pitched for the school's baseball team.[1] In 2014, his senior year, he was named to the All-State team by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.[2] He had committed to play college baseball for Tennessee Tech.[3]

The Philadelphia Phillies selected McWilliams in the eighth round of the 2014 MLB draft.[4] After the 2015 season, the Phillies traded McWilliams to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Jeremy Hellickson.[5][6] He spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the Kane County Cougars of the Class A Midwest League.[7][8] He began the 2018 season with the Visalia Rawhide of the Class A-Advanced California League.[9]

On May 1, 2018, the Tampa Bay Rays acquired McWilliams and Colin Poche from the Diamondbacks as the players to be named later from the February trade in which the Diamondbacks acquired Steven Souza Jr. from the Rays.[9] The Royals selected McWilliams in the 2018 Rule 5 draft.[10] After pitching to a 15.43 ERA in ​4 2⁄3 innings in spring training, the Royals returned McWilliams to the Rays on March 24, 2019.[11] He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

Due to changes McWilliams made to his mechanics and repertoire at Tampa Bay's alternate site during the 2020 season, roughly half the teams in Major League Baseball had inquired about signing him after he became a free agent.[3] Ultimately, on November 20, 2020, McWilliams signed a one-year major league contract with the New York Mets for $750,000, far more than the Major League minimum despite never having pitched in a Major League game.[12]

See also

References
  1. "Stoic Beech standout made many hitters miss". The Tennessean. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  2. "Johnson, McWilliams named all-state". The Tennessean. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  3. Verducci, Tom (December 8, 2020). "MLB Teams Chased After a Lifetime Minor Leaguer. The Mets ... Won?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. Harrischarris, Craig (June 6, 2014). "D'Backs, Phillies draft local pitchers". Tennessean.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  5. "D-backs pick up McWilliams from Phillies". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  6. Johnson, Paul. "Pitcher Sam McWilliams makes smooth transition to Cougars' rotation". Elgin Courier-News. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  7. Johnson, Paul. "Improved form has Sam McWilliams of Kane County off to hot start". chicagotribune.com.
  8. "Smoother sailing for Kane County Cougars' Sam McWilliams this season". www.kcchronicle.com.
  9. "Rays acquire Colin Poche, Sam McWilliams". MLB.com. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  10. "The Rule 5 Draft was kind to Royals last year. They took two more pitchers this year". kansascity. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  11. "Rule 5 pick Sam McWilliams returned to Rays". Tampa Bay Times.
  12. Adams, Steve (November 20, 2020). "Mets Sign Sam McWilliams To Major League Contract". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
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