Black MLB Players #11: RP Devin Williams, Milwaukee Brewers
Equipped with one of the best changeups in the history of baseball, strikeout artist Devin Williams has been one of MLB's most dominant relief pitchers since his first full season in 2020
Background + Path To The MLB
Devin Williams is a 28-year-old relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers from the Greater St. Louis Area, Missouri, growing up in the city's suburbs. He was seen as a top 100 talent by many reputed sources as he approached eligibility for the MLB Draft.
He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Hazelwood West High School with the 54th overall pick and received a $1.35 million signing bonus. He forewent a commitment to the University of Missouri, where he had a full scholarship.
In 2017, Williams tore his Ulnar Collateral Ligament in his right elbow, requiring Tommy John surgery. Throughout his career, Devin Williams has been injury prone, which led to him transitioning from being a starting pitcher to coming out of the bullpen, in order to decrease his workload, as well as the wear & tear on his body.
His first full season as a reliever was the 2019 MiLB season. Williams was chosen as one of the representatives for the NL Rising Stars Team. He also made his major league debut in 2019, which was a huge breakthrough considering all the struggles with injuries he had throughout his professional career.
Following up on his productive cup of coffee in the majors the prior year, Williams was the best relief pitcher in baseball in 2020. He dominated during the 60-game season, leading all qualified relievers in fWAR with 1.4 and his 0.33 ERA in 27 innings was the lowest of any qualified reliever. He struck out 53 of the 100 batters he faced during the shortened season.
Williams made 58 appearances during the 2021 season, striking 87 batters and allowing 36 hits. His ERA in his first full season was 2.50, the 24th lowest of 144 qualified relievers. He also possessed the sixth-highest strikeout percentage among relievers during the 2021 season.
His dominance would continue for the 2022 season, as his 1.93 ERA was 13 lowest in all of MLB. He was tied for second in strikeouts with 93 and picked up 15 saves, his first time reaching double digits in that statistic.
Player Profile
Devin Williams throws three pitches: a four-seam fastball, changeup, and cutter. He throws the four-seamer and changeup the majority of the time, and the cutter is rarely used.
His four-seam fastball is an effective pitch, with his average fastball velocity being around 96 mph. It has an average-ish amount of vertical movement but has a lot of arm-side run, also known as horizontal movement.
The pitch that makes Devin Williams an extremely dominant reliever is his changeup. It is an anomaly in every sense of the word, one of the best individual pitches in the MLB currently.
It ranks in the 97th percentile or better in all the major characteristic measurements for MLB changeups: velocity differential(the change in velocity/speed between the fastball & changeup), vertical movement(rise or drop), horizontal movement(also called run), and spin rate.
Since breaking into the majors during the 2019 season, he is top five in strikeouts on changeups despite throwing nowhere near as many pitches as the others near the top of the list.
Opposing hitters own a paltry .170/.276/.260 slash line when Williams is on the mound, which shows his ability to suppress contact and power. Per Baseball Reference, his 48% groundball rate is six percent higher than the MLB average and his 39% strikeout rate is 17% higher than the league average. His average allowed exit velocity of 84 miles per hour (MPH) is four MPH below the league average.
His ability to command the baseball is below average. His career BB/9 is 4.2 and he has the 27th-highest walk percentage among relievers since his debut in 2019 per FanGraphs. This has not stopped him from being successful as his 79.4% left on-base rate is one of the highest among relievers from 2019 to 2022.
Contract
Devin Williams is still on his rookie deal and is due to become a free agent in 2026.
Conclusion
Devin Williams profiles as one of the most effective relievers of his generation. Armed with his great fastball and once-in-a-lifetime changeup, he has quickly established himself as a reliever that has the ability to reach enshrinement in Cooperstown.