Gavin Williams has a chance to take over the ace spot for the Cleveland Guardians in 2026.
After a couple of troublesome seasons on the mound for Cleveland, the 25-year-old broke out this past season with a career-high ERA of 3.06. He also amassed a 12-5 record with 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
But, while he stepped up and thrived, his counterpart, Tanner Bibee, took a step back.
In 2025, he recorded a career low in numerous categories, including ERA with 4.24. While he was dealing with random injuries and a situation where he missed Opening Day due to illness, Bibee never truly found his groove. Across 182 innings, he allowed a career-high in earned runs, home runs and walks, all while striking out fewer batters than he did in 2024.
With Williams and Bibee practically switching places in productivity, the Guardians should look at making Williams the ace in 2026.
He took drastic leaps last season. In 2023, he pitched 82 innings for a 3.29 ERA across 16 starts. It was just his first year in the league, so he had a few kinks in his game to work out, but 2024 was set to be a growth year for the right-hander.
However, that wouldn’t be the case as he had a career-worst in numerous categories, including ERA with a mark at 4.86, with a negative pWAR at -0.1. He also won just three starts with 10 losses.
Such inefficiencies in his game tossed his future with the Guardians up into the air.
But as fate would have it, this past season, he showed that he could take on a higher role with the team.
Throughout the 2025 season, Williams consistently made his impact known. With a 3.54 ERA and a WHIP of 1.29, he was proving to be one of the best arms in baseball, especially after the All-Star break on Cleveland’s legendary, 15.5-game comeback to take first place in the AL Central.
His arsenal of pitches was a main catalyst for his growth, with a sweeper being added into the mix, while also continuing to have elite velocity on his four-seam fastball.
The sweeper was a pitch he never threw in the league till 2025 and it became an incredibly impactful piece of his game. The pitch had a strike rate of 42.4 percent, a put-away rate of 35.9 percent, and an MLB-leading whiff rate of 44 percent.
If he can continue to grow with fast pitches and change-ups, he will continue to make a case to be the Guardians’ ace.
For Bibee, who led the role in 2025, he may need a season or two to regain some of his confidence.
That’s not a bad thing, though. Cleveland’s starting rotation might benefit more from having Bibee as a Day 2 or 3 starter, instead of the ace. He would be a perfect mid-week starter that would either regain confidence and momentum for the Guardians or build upon those characteristics.
No matter what Cleveland decides to do, their youthful pitching staff should provide the mound with plenty of excitement from Opening Day onward in 2026.
The Guardians are slowly ramping up preparation for the start of the 2026 MLB Spring Training. Most teams will begin on Friday, Feb. 20, with the first full slate of games on Saturday, Feb. 21, in both Arizona and Florida.
For now, the team looks to bolster the roster in free agency.