Cleveland Guardians pitching prospect drawing Gerrit Cole comparisons

The next great pitching prospect for the Cleveland Guardians hasn’t even been with the organization for a year yet, but his stock his booming.

Baseball America (subscription required) named its minor league midseason players of the year and Guards’ farmhand Gavin Williams was selected to represent Cleveland.

Williams, the Guards’ first-round pick (23rd overall) out of East Carolina last summer, didn’t even play rookie ball after being selected. He began his pro career with the Captains and breezed through High-A, fanning 67 in 45 innings pitched while walking 14. He had a 1.40 ERA.

He was promptly promoted to Double-A Akron, where he’s been excellent through four starts, posting a 1.69 ERA. Through 12 starts across two levels, Williams has a 1.66 ERA, along with 80 strikeouts compared to 22 walks in just 54.1 innings.

Currently Daniel Espino ranks as Cleveland’s No. 1 prospect (MLB Pipeline) but the pitching phenom has spent most of the season injured (sore shoulder, knee). Williams currently sits at No. 3, behind outfielder George Valera.

If you’re looking for player comparisons, look no further than Yankees’ ace Gerritt Cole–and that’s coming from the organization.

“[Williams has] been compared to Gerrit Cole in more ways than one,” said director of player development, Mike Cerfolio, via The Athletic. 

When could Williams be promoted to Cleveland Guardians?

Considering Williams’ collegiate experience, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him pitching in Columbus by the end of the season. That’s assuming things go well in Akron and it should, because the Eastern League is really a place an elite pitcher should excel as batters from the A-level adjust to seeing better stuff.

The Guardians continue to invest in pitching, making headlines in last year’s draft for taking 10 pitchers with their first 11 picks.

Not a bad move, as we’ve seen how much upper-tier pitching can costs. Speaking of prices, with some prospects getting closer to their MLB born-on dates, one has to wonder what the future holds for Shane Bieber.

Despite a dip in velocity, Bieber is far and away the class of the Guardians’ rotation. That said, he’s going to get really expensive in arbitration and free agency is now 2 1/2 seasons away. The Guardians probably won’t trade him before the deadline, but the offseason is a real possibility.

Losing Bieber would be brutal because despite how great the prospects looks, it’s hard to replace a former Cy Young Award winner. He made his debut in 2018 and was really good. He won that All-Star Game MVP in 2019 and has been considered elite ever since.

Usually it takes a lot longer for guys to hit their stride at the big-league level. Maybe that won’t be the case for Williams, if he’s as good as advertised. (we’re talking Gerrit Cole comps!).