Cleveland Indians may have drafted someone special with pitcher Gavin Williams – Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio – When the Cleveland Indians beat East Carolina’s Gavin Williams in the first round of the MLB Draft, several things immediately came to mind:

1. Thank goodness he wasn’t a high school pitcher. Taking high school pitchers near the top of the draft is extremely risky as they tend to be very injury prone. Yes, Triston McKenzie was a first-round pick (42nd overall) by the tribe in 2015, but injuries have haunted him as well.

2. Look at these names of new tribe members and their colleges: Shane Bieber (UC-Santa Barbara), Trevor Bauer (UCLA), Mike Clevinger (Citadel, Seminole State JC), Zach Plesac (Ball State), Aaron Civale (Northeastern), Adam Plutko (UCLA) and Corey Kluber (Stetson). Only Carlos Carrasco (Venezuela) was not a college pitcher.

3. At 6 feet 6 inches and 238 pounds with a fastball that averages between 96 and 100 mph, Williams is the type of pitcher who can move quickly through the farming system. That’s especially true because he’s averaged 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings this season versus 2.3 walks.

Williams will be 22 on July 26. He fell to 23rd in the draft partly because of his age – some teams don’t like players to start their professional careers at 22, considering them too old. He injured his finger in 2020. At the start of his career, he had control problems.

While Williams was drafted in the 30th round by Tampa Bay in 2017 from Cape Fear High School (NC), he only became a polished pitcher this season.

“I’m going to take a risk,” said Dan O’Dowd of MLB.com. “But I think he (Williams) can be absolutely the best pitcher in this draft.”

Former assistant general manager of the tribe and later general manager of the Colorado Rockies, O’Dowd said this on MLB Network on Sunday night.

He compared Williams to Brandon Woodruff, a Milwaukee starter with a career 26-15 record and a 3.20 ERA. Woodruff, 28, is 7-4 with a 2.05 ERA for the Brewers this season.

GREAT FINISH

“This year he dominated in college,” Tribe scouting director Scott Barnsby said. “On his last start of the season, on the biggest stage, he ended up pitching 7 1/3 innings against Vanderbilt and held 97 mph the entire game. It’s just a physical right-hander, a power arm, up to 100mph with two power-shattering bullets.

His East Carolina team lost 2-0 to powerful Vanderbilt in the NCAA Super Regional. Williams struck out 13, walked two and allowed two unearned runs. He threw 100 shots in that game, and his last was timed at 97 mph. His last record of the season was 10-1 with a 1.88 ERA.

“He has demonstrated this year that he can maintain his equipment all year round,” said Barnsby. “We see him as a starter. It goes back to the mix of four lengths he has and his ability to maintain his speed deep into the game. We feel really good about his chances to start.

This matches O’Dowd’s projection: “He’s got four pitches and he can pitch them all for strikes. He’s a high-ceilinged guy.

By the way, East Carolina has been ranked 12th in the country this season. He was with a great program.

ONE YEAR AGO

The 2020 draft was only five rounds due to the pandemic. The tribe took the high school shortstop Carson Tucker in the first round at No. 23. He’s in the rookies ball.

Here are the selected university launchers:

Choose 36: Auburn’s Tanner Burns, who is 2-4 with a 3.33 ERA in Lake County Class A, 59 strikeouts in 45 innings.

Choose 56: Logan T. Allen of Florida International, who was 5-0 with a 1.58 ERA in Lake County. He has just been promoted to Class AA Akron.

Choose 154: Mason Hickman of Vanderbilt, who is 3-5 with a 5.61 ERA for Lake County.

The only one in trouble is Hickman, who was a control pitcher with a marginal fastball. Maybe he’s coming to Cleveland, maybe not.

But Allen and Burns have a good start in their professional careers.

The tribe’s 2019 first-round pick at Georgia Premier Academy in Statesboro was Daniel Espino. He posted a 1-2 record and a 3.38 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 42 innings for Lynchburg, the Tribe’s “Low-A” team. On Monday, he was promoted to Lake County, rated “High-A”. The 6-foot-2 right-hander is 20 years old.

As for Williams, at the very least, the tribe believe he can be a strong arm for the relievers. But they think they have more than that, a guy who can bring the rotation to life in a few years.

LATEST STORIES OF TERRY PLUTON

Hey Terry: What about the Browns hype? Nick Chubb?

Tribe at the All-Star break: Pay? Who should stay, who should go?

Seeking Help in the Farming System: Terry’s Tribe Scribbles

Lots of things about Doug Dieken that you probably don’t know

Hey Terry, what about the Browns? Will the wheels fall off?

Joe Banner thinks it might be a good time to sign Baker Mayfield for extra time.

Is Baker Mayfield the QB of a system? Is the case against him fair?

Should the Cavs trade Collin Sexton?

Terry’s Talkin ‘Cavs: Mobley and Allen’s Trading? Suggs or green?