Garrett Williams Stats & Scouting Report

IP	526.333
ERA	4.395
WHIP	1.534
BB/9	5.728
SO/9	9.661

Full name Garrett Carter Williams
Born 09/15/1994 in Lubbock, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Oklahoma State
Drafted in the 7th round (215th overall) by the San Francisco Giants in 2016 (signed for $250,000).

View Draft Report

There a few bigger enigmas in this year's draft than Williams. Because of control troubles, Williams has pitched very sporadically-in three of his 10 appearances this season he was pulled without recording an out. He heads into the draft having thrown only 12 innings as a junior. But there's still a lot to like despite the fact that Williams has 60 walks in 72 college innings. Scouts got a good look at Williams in fall ball, and he still has a very fast, loose arm. The ball comes out easy, even if it rarely finds the strike zone. He has an above-average fastball (93-94 mph) in short stints and his breaking ball is even better than his fastball, but he rarely commands either. Some team will take a chance on the arm and hope that regular innings will help him sort through his control problems.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Track Record: A hard-throwing righthander out of Oklahoma State, Williams was the Giants' seventh-round pick in 2016. Following a breakout first full season in 2017, Williams struggled mightily in 2018. After cracking a nail on his throwing hand late in spring training, Williams never fully recovered and walked nearly seven batters per nine innings while recording a 6.06 ERA in the Double-A Eastern League.

Scouting Report: Pitching from a low, three-quarter arm slot, Williams' 90-94 mph fastball jumps on hitters as it nears the plate. He struggled with fastball command in 2018, which put him behind in the count often. His hard, low-80s power curveball is his best offspeed pitch, grading out above-average, but his third-pitch changeup is currently below-average. The key for Williams will be finding the strike zone. His control has long been below-average dating back to his days at Oklahoma State, and after improving in that area in 2017, Williams took a step back this past season.

The Future: Williams will be a starter at Double-A Richmond in 2019, but he has serious reliever risk. He'll need to throw more strikes and refine his changeup to reach his ceiling of a mid-rotation starter.
The Giants took a trio of hard-throwing but wild college pitchers in the 2016 draft. Matt Krook and Alex Bostic struggled in 2017, but taking Williams in the seventh round paid off handsomely. Williams responded well to steady work in his first full season, going 6-5, 2.32 in 97 innings at the Class A levels--more innings than he pitched in three seasons combined at Oklahoma State. Williams has long had two plus pitches, but in college, he never threw enough strikes for it to matter. Pitching from a low three-quarter arm slot, his command is still well below average but he has begun repeating his delivery enough to stay around the strike zone. Williams' 91-94 mph fastball seems to find another gear at it nears the plate, generating swings and misses. His low-80s power curveball is hard with depth and some sweep thanks to his arm slot. He's also improved his still below-average changeup, but he doesn't use it much. Williams needs to refine his still fringy control, but he has some of the best pure stuff in the Giants system. After making massive strides in 2017, he's closer to his potential as a mid-rotation starter.
Few pitchers have succeeded to a greater extent than Williams in the Little League World Series. He struck out 42, allowed five hits and walked two in 16.2 scoreless innings in Williamsport. For a while, that looked like Williams' career highlight. He missed part of his senior year in high school with thoracic outlet syndrome, and he actually threw more innings at the LLWS than he did as a junior at Oklahoma State the year the Giants made him a seventh-round pick. Wildness relegated him to the OSU bullpen, and he threw 73 innings and walked 61 as a Cowboy. But for all his control problems, Williams has dominating stuff and a loose arm. His short takeaway doesn't seem to indicate long-term control problems. The Giants had Williams work on two delivery flaws. He too often collapses his back leg and gets underneath the ball, and he also needs to be more direct to the plate. He works with a plus 93-97 mph fastball as well as a plus curveball that is now showing tighter spin and later break than it did in college. He also has a fringe-average changeup. If Williams can refine his well below-average control--a very big if--everything is place for him to become a mid-rotation starter.

Draft Prospects

There a few bigger enigmas in this year's draft than Williams. Because of control troubles, Williams has pitched very sporadically-in three of his 10 appearances this season he was pulled without recording an out. He heads into the draft having thrown only 12 innings as a junior. But there's still a lot to like despite the fact that Williams has 60 walks in 72 college innings. Scouts got a good look at Williams in fall ball, and he still has a very fast, loose arm. The ball comes out easy, even if it rarely finds the strike zone. He has an above-average fastball (93-94 mph) in short stints and his breaking ball is even better than his fastball, but he rarely commands either. Some team will take a chance on the arm and hope that regular innings will help him sort through his control problems.
Vanderbilt recruited Williams when he was an underclassman, and recruiting coordinator Josh Holliday continued his pursuit when he became head coach at Oklahoma State. Williams is a good student and may be a tough sign, particularly after the quality of his stuff dipped this year after he had to have surgery to take care of thoracic outlet syndrome, which was impairing his blood flow. Williams was a second-team preseason All-American despite the injury, and his velocity has fluctuated this spring. At times he has shown his 90-93 fastball, but more often he's sitting 88-91, and at other times his fastball dips to 86-89 mph. Williams still has a plus breaking ball, though, a sharp curveball. His changeup also has potential to be a solid big league offering. Williams would be a first-round talent had he stayed fully healthy, as he has a great pitcher's body at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds and repeats his sound delivery. He's handled being "famous" for years thanks to his star turn during the 2007 Little League World Series. Ultimately his draft spot will turn on signability.