Trevor Williams Does Not Allow Much Hard Contact

The Pittsburgh Pirates can pull to 3 games out of first place with a win over the Milwaukee Brewers tonight

Through two games, the Pirates’ current seven game road trip could not be off to a better start. Each of the past two nights the Pittsburgh Pirates have been victorious over the Milwaukee Brewers. As a result, the 33-38 Pirates are now just four games out of first place in the National League Central.

Game three of the seven game road trip, and four game series in Milwaukee, is scheduled for 8:10 PM tonight. For the Pirates, right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams will make the start. Williams will be looking to turn in his eighth consecutive strong start.

Trevor Williams has pitched in 14 games this season, with eight of them being starts. Overall, his numbers are not flashy.

In 52 1/3 innings pitched this season Williams owns a 5.16 ERA, 4.66 FIP, and a 5.07 xFIP. He is averaging 5.85 K/9, 2.58 BB/9, and 1.20 HR/9. However, these numbers do not tell the full story.

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Trevor Williams has been a completely different pitcher his previous seven starts. In these seven starts, he owns a 4.06 ERA and a 3.87 FIP in 37 2/3 innings pitched. He is averaging just 1.67 BB/9, has allowed just three home runs, and is generating a 46.7 percent groundball rate.

What has been most impressive during this stretch has been the ability of Trevor Williams to generate soft contact. He is generating a 24.6 percent soft contact rate during these seven starts while allowing hard contact at just a 30.3 percent rate. In fact, Trevor Williams has been very good at inducing soft contact all season.

Overall this season Williams owns a 25.4 percent soft contact rate, which is the third best in the National League among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched. As for his 28.9 percent hard contact rate on the season, it checks in at 14th best in the National League.

Trevor Williams has been very good at not allowing hard contact this season. When a pitcher does this, their odds of allowing base hits, especially extra base hits, drops substantially. If this continues tonight for Williams, then there is a good chance the Pirates will find themselves just three games out of first place at night’s end.