Gavin Scott Williams...Became the first college pitcher that Cleveland has drafted in the first round since 2010 (Drew Pomeranz)...Pitched in parts of four seasons for the East Carolina Pirates, going 11-5 with a 2.65 ERA across 53 collegiate games/17 starts (149.1 IP, 108 H, 47 R/ER, seven HR, 53 BB, 200 K)...Went 10-1 in '21 with a 1.88 ERA (17 ER/81.1 IP) to earn placement on six different All-America teams, in addition to being selected as a finalist for both the Dick Howser and Golden Spike Awards…Struck out 13 Vanderbilt Commodores in 7.1 IP in the 2021 Super Regional...Graduated from Cape Fear High School in Fayetteville, N.C., in 2017.
2025
Emerged as the ace of the Guardians' rotation in 2025, recording career highs in wins (12), starts (31), innings pitched (167.2) and strikeouts (173)...Williams’ .706 win percentage in 2025 was the third-highest clip in the AL, trailing only Boston’s Garrett Crochet (.783, 18-5) and New York-AL’s Max Fried (.792, 19-5)...Marked the highest win percentage by a Cleveland starter in a single season since Cal Quantrill (.750, 15-5) in 2022...After going 5-4 with a 3.70 ERA (40 ER/97.1 IP) in 19 starts in the first half of the year, Williams went 7-1 with a 2.18 ERA (17 ER/70.1 IP) in 12 outings after the All-Star break...Opponents hit .211 (130-for-615) off Williams in 2025, the sixth-lowest clip in the AL...Handcuffed opposing left-handed hitters to a .163 (51-for-313) batting average, the lowest clip allowed in MLB (min. 150 LHH faced)...Marked the second-lowest average allowed to southpaws by a Cleveland pitcher in a single season since data is available (1974-present), trailing only Sid Monge (.161) in 1979...The right-hander held opponents to a .158 (21-for-133) clip with RISP in 2025, the lowest average allowed by any pitcher in the Majors (min. 150 BF with RISP), ahead of New York-AL’s Carlos Rodón (.179)...Williams’ .158 average allowed with RISP was the lowest by a Cleveland pitcher in a season since data is available (1974-present)...Increased his curveball usage in 2025 (22.2% usage) compared to 2024 (19.8% usage)...Opponents hit .115 (16-for-139) off Williams’ curveball, the lowest clip in the Majors (min. 400 curveballs thrown)...Issued a ML-leading 83 walks in 2025, ahead of Los Angeles-AL’s José Soriano (78)...Became the first Guardians pitcher to lead the AL in walks since Trevor Bauer (79) in 2015...Last CLE pitcher to lead MLB in walks was Sam McDowell in 1971 (153 in 214.2 IP)…Williams became the first CLE pitcher to issue 83+ walks but have an ERA at or below 3.06 since Rick Sutcliffe (83 / 2.96 ERA) in 1982...Ubaldo Jiménez walked 95 in 2012...Recorded four pickoffs in 2025, tied for the fourth-most in the AL, behind Tampa Bay’s Ryan Pepiot (five), Logan Allen (five) and New York-AL’s Max Fried (eight)...Prior to 2025, Williams totaled two pickoffs over his first two MLB seasons, from 2023-24...Carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning in his start on Aug. 6 at New York-NL, setting career highs in both innings (8.2) and pitches (126) in the process...Marked the longest no-hit bid by a Cleveland hurler since Carlos Carrasco on July 1, 2015 at Tampa Bay (8.2 IP)...Became the first Guardians pitcher to throw 126+ pitches in a start since Trevor Bauer on June 26, 2019 vs. Kansas City (127 pitches)...Finished the season by winning each of his final four decisions from Aug. 30-Sept. 23, which marked the longest streak of his career and was the second-longest win streak by a Guardians pitcher in 2025, behind Tanner Bibee (five GS from July 12-Aug. 14)...Made his second career postseason start in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series vs. Detroit, suffering the tough-luck loss despite not allowing an earned run over 6.0 innings…Became the first pitcher to shoulder the defeat in a postseason start in which he worked 6.0+ innings while not allowing an earned run since Washington’s Stephen Strasburg (7.0 IP, two R/0 ER) in Game 1 of the 2017 NLDS vs. Chicago-NL…He was the first Guardians pitcher to take a postseason loss in such a fashion.
2024
Joined Cleveland's rotation for the second half following an elbow injury in Spring Training that delayed his 2024 debut...Logged 16 starts for the Guards after beginning the year on the IL (right elbow impingement)...Went 3-10 with a 4.86 ERA (3.59 FIP) in his second MLB season, fanning 9.36 batters per 9.0 IP (79 SO/76.0 IP) with a 1.37 WHIP...Made two starts in Cactus League play (4.2 IP, R/ER, 9 SO) before experiencing right elbow discomfort during weighted ball drills on 3/7...Began the season on Cleveland’s 15-day injured list (transferred to 60-day IL on 5/9)...Logged six rehab starts between AA Akron and AAA Columbus, recording 24 SO in 17.0 IP...Made his 2024 Cleveland debut 7/3 vs. CWS...Tossed a career-high 105 pitches in a quality start on 7/25 vs. DET, recording a season-high nine strikeouts...Was one of just three quality starts across his 16 assignments...Hurled a 100 mph first-inning fastball 8/4 vs. BAL, the fastest pitch of his career and the first time a Cleveland starter reached triple digits in the Statcast Era (2015)...Went 3-3 with a 3.56 ERA (17 ER/43.0 IP) in nine road games started, while going 0-7 with a 6.55 ERA (24 ER/33.0 IP) in seven home GS...Became the first pitcher in club history to shoulder the loss in seven-straight home starts...Received 18 total runs of support across his 16 games started in 2024, including no run support in six outings and two-or-fewer runs in 15 of 16 starts...His 2.13 run support average per 9.0IP was the lowest in MLB this season (min. 10GS)...Williams' 4.14 xERA was 0.71 lower than his actual ERA (4.86), the second-largest difference by a Clevelander in 2024 (Carlos Carrasco - 0.99; 5.64 ERA, 4.65 xERA)...Held the opposition to a .155 (11-for-71) AVG off his curveball, his most utilized offspeed offering (19.8%)...Was included on Cleveland's ALDS roster (did not appear)...Made his Postseason debut as the club's starter in ALCS G4 vs. NYY (ND, 2.1 IP, 3 R/ER, 4 SO), an 8-6 Guardians loss.
2023
After entering the season as Cleveland’s Consensus No. 2 prospect (Baseball America), Williams impressed in his rookie season, going 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA (30ER/82.0IP) in 16 starts for Cleveland…Following his promotion to the Major League level on June 21, he was second on the team in ERA (3.29), strikeouts (81) and opposing average (.219)...Made his Major League debut on June 21 against Oakland, allowing 4 runs (4ER) over 5.2 innings, a 7-6 Cleveland win…Allowed one hit over 7.0-shutout innings with six strikeouts and one walk in his second career start at Kansas City on June 27, a 2-1 victory…Became just the second pitcher in franchise history to throw 7.0+ innings with one or fewer hits allowed within their first two Major League games…The other was Addie Joss in 1902 (9.0IP, 1H). Despite an 0-2 record in six road starts, Williams recorded a 2.48 ERA (8ER/29.0IP) while handcuffing hitters to a .188 average...His .188 opposing batting average ranked seventh in the American League while his 2.48 ERA ranked eighth in the AL over the span...On Aug. 7, in a 3-1 loss against Toronto, he twirled 7.0-scoreless IP with 12 SO (7.0IP, 1H, 0R/ER, 1BB, 12SO), becoming the first player in CLE franchise history and just the 12th rookie pitcher in MLB history w/an outing of 12+SO and one or fewer hits allowed, last done by Jack Flaherty (13SO, 1H) on June 22, 2018 for St. Louis against Milwaukee…12 strikeouts were the most by a Cleveland rookie since Luis Tiant in 1964 vs. Kansas City(AL) and T6th-most by a rookie in a game in franchise history…The outing came amidst a six-start stretch (July 15-August 12) where the rookie did not allow three-or-more earned runs in an outing, posting a 1.80 ERA (6ER/30.0IP), sixth in MLB. Received four or more runs of support in just four of his 16 outings, while receiving two or fewer runs of support nine of his 16 starts, including five starts with zero runs of support. Opened up the season at AA Akron and was effective in his three starts…After posting a 0.63 ERA in three starts and notching an AL Pitcher of the Week award, he was promoted to AAA Columbus following his start on April 20, making nine starts to record a MiLB ERA of 2.39 in 2023…Over his Minor League career, he owns an 11.81 SO/9 and 3.SO/BB.
2022
Began his career at High-A Lake County, making a total of nine starts…Went 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA (7ER/45.0IP) with 67 strikeouts and 14 walks…Allowed two-plus earned runs in just one start on 4/15 vs. Dayton, his second pro start…Promoted to AA Akron following his outing on 6/3…Boasted a 2.31 ERA (18ER/70.0IP), second in the Eastern League behind his teammate Tanner Bibee (1.83), with 82 strikeouts and 26 walks…among Eastern League pitchers (min 70.0IP) he finished with the second-lowest opposing average (.176), second-lowest H/9 (5.66) and ninth-highest SO/9 (10.54).
