Cleveland Indians draft RHP Gavin Williams with first pick in 2021 MLB Draft

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CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Indians used their first pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft to select right-hander Gavin Williams of East Carolina University.

Williams, 21, is 10-1 with a 1.88 ERA this year. He struck out 130 and walked 21 in 81 innings. He was selected as a finalist for the Dick Howser and Golden Spikes Awards.

The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Williams has a fastball that is between 94 and 97 mph and has hit 100. During his four years at East Carolina, Williams went 11-5 with a 2.64 ERA. in 53 matches, including 17 starts. He only joined the starting full-time rotation this year.

Williams got on the card with a strong start against Vanderbilt and Kumar Rocker in the Super Regionals in the NCAA playoffs this year. Williams and East Carolina lost to Vanderbilt, but he struck out 13 and scored two goals in 7 1/3 innings. On his last throw, he hit 97 mph.

The Mets won Rocker with the 10th pick in the first round. The Indians took Williams with the 23rd pick in the first round.

“We have a lot of history with Gavin, going back to his time in high school,” said Scott Barnsby, Director of Indian Amateur Scouting. “This guy is a big physical right-hander. It was a really impressive progression with its material and its feel.

“This year he dominated in college. 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.

Barnsby said the Indians will keep Williams in a starting role.

“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.

Barnsby said it’s hard to predict who will be available when you get the 23rd pick in the first round.

“But the people in our draft room were really excited to have Gavin there,” he said.

The Tampa Bay Rays drafted Williams in the 30th round in 2017 at Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is on track to graduate this summer with a criminal justice degree.

The Indian signing bonus pool is $ 7,398,800. The slot machine price for Williams is $ 2,926,800.

Williams is listed as a four-year-old junior, but there is no doubt he will sign. He did not make the draft last year to try to improve his ranking this year. The strategy worked.

All of this could give the Indians some flexibility to sign the players they select in subsequent rounds on Monday and Tuesday if they are able to sign Williams for less than his slot value.

“To know Gavin’s intentions, to know that he wants to go out and play.” . .yes, I think we have flexibility, ”Barnsby said.

Here are the values of the locations of the other Indians’ picks in the first 10 rounds of the draft:

No. 58. $ 1,214,300;
No. 69, $ 929,800;
No. 95, $ 610,800;
No. 125. $ 455,600;
No. 156, $ 336,600;
# 186: $ 259,400;
No. 216, $ 203,400;
# 246,167,000;
No. 276, $ 151,600;
and No. 306. $ 143,500.

The draft, held in July for the first time, will last 20 rounds this year. That’s an increase from five last year due to the pandemic, but it’s down from 40 rounds, the traditional length of the draft for years.

Sunday’s draft game lasted 36 caps. Monday, the draft will move from the second to the 10th round. The draft ends Wednesday with rounds 11 to 20.

The teams have until August 1 to sign their draft picks.

To finish: The Twins, with the 36th and final pick on day one of the draft, took on Noah Miller, a high school shortstop from Wisconsin. He is the younger brother of Indian infielder Owen Miller.

New Indian masks for sale: Here’s where you can purchase Cleveland Indian-themed face covers for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a 3-pack ($ 24.99). All MLB profits are donated to charity.

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