It’s time to see what Gavin Williams looks like in 2026. <\/p>\n
All offseason, the Cleveland Guardians\u2019 right-hander drew praise from national analysts<\/a>, many of whom believe this could be the year he breaks out and enters the Cy Young conversation. On Friday, March 27, he\u2019ll get his first opportunity to back that up, taking the mound against the Seattle Mariners in his season debut. <\/p>\n Earlier this offseason, manager Stephen Vogt highlighted that Williams was focused on having his best season yet. <\/p>\n \u201cIn the three years I’ve known Gavin, I’ve never seen him this focused or determined. He had a tremendous offseason,\u201d Vogt said. <\/a>\u201cThe last few months [of 2025], I don’t think we could have drawn up a better stretch than what Gavin Williams did for us. <\/p>\n “I\u2019m really thrilled to see him come in ready to go. But there is a different determination about him. He wants to be one of the best. He knows he’s one of the best, and that’s a really good feeling for us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n With the Guardians already securing a win on Opening Day, Williams will take the ball with a chance to keep that momentum rolling. Against a Mariners lineup that showed its power with four home runs the night prior<\/a>, his ability to command the strike zone and mix pitches will be key. <\/p>\n A Comfortable Spring<\/p>\n It wasn’t an eye-popping spring for Williams, but that may be a good thing. <\/p>\n Across five starts, he showed strong command and efficiency, striking out 19 batters while walking just two. He finished with a 1.19 WHIP, consistently working ahead in counts and limiting free passes.<\/p>\n More importantly, it wasn\u2019t just the numbers that looked good, but his pitching arsenal as well. <\/p>\n Williams has traditionally leaned on his four-seam fastball, curveball and sweeper, occasionally mixing in a cutter and sinker. However, those have been used less than 15% of the time in years past.<\/a> One of the biggest developments late last season, and something that carried into spring, was the increased effectiveness of his sinker. <\/p>\n He is expected to utilize it far more often in 2026, especially as a way to keep opposing batters on their toes. That would give him five pitches he’s very comfortable using. <\/p>\n Against a heavy-hitting Mariners squad that bashed four solo home runs last night off starter Tanner Bibee, Williams will likely stretch the strike zone and rotate through different pitches to find what can best keep the opposition at bay. <\/p>\n Williams’ Strong Finish to 2025<\/p>\n Much of the optimism surrounding him stems from what he did at the end of last season during a stretch where the Guardians climbed all the way back to win the American League Central. <\/p>\n In his regular-season finale, he pitched through six innings on the mound, allowing just four hits and two earned runs, all while striking out an impressive 12 batters. The Guardians went on to win that game, 5-2, pushing Williams’ overall record to 12-5 as a starting pitcher. <\/p>\n That type of performance wasn’t very surprising, though, as the back-half of the campaign was where he thrived. <\/a> <\/p>\n Just a month earlier, Williams had nearly come away with a no-hitter in a game against the New York Mets. <\/p>\n He had gone through eight innings of action and was approaching 130 pitches when superstar Juan Soto spoiled his potential historic performance. He crushed a solo home run with two outs to go in the game, ending what would’ve been the Guardians’ first no-hitter since Len Barker’s perfect game way back in 1981. <\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t matter if I went to 140 pitches,” he said at the time. “I would have done it anyway. It was pretty special to be out there. You never know when that\u2019s gonna happen again.\u201d <\/p>\n