Trevor Williams has Solidified a Spot in the 2018 Rotation

After starting the 2017 season in the bullpen, Trevor Williams has emerged as a very reliable starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

When the 2017 season began right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams was in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen. However, on May 8 he was moved to the rotation due to Jameson Taillon being placed on the disabled list. After a bad first start of the season Williams has become incredibly reliable.

Between the bullpen and starting rotation Trevor William has averaged 7.00 K/9 and 3.11 BB/9 in 150 1/3 innings pitched this season. He has allowed 145 hits, 14 home runs (0.84 HR/9), and he owns a 48.0 percent groundball rate. All of this has led to him owning a 4.07 ERA, 4.02 FIP, and a 2.2 fWAR in 2017.

Furthermore, Trevor William has done a great job of taking the sting out of bats this season. Among pitchers with at least 150 innings pitched this season Williams owns a 28.8 percent hard contact rate which is 12th lowest in the National League. This is a big reason why his 0.84 HR/9 is third best in the league.

Since joining the starting rotation in early May, Williams has been fantastic. In 25 starts he pitched 138 2/3 innings and allowed just 133 hits and 12 home runs. He averaged 6.94 K/9, 2.92 BB/9, and he owned a 49.8 percent groundball rate.

As a starting pitcher this season Williams has posted a 3.96 ERA, 3.90 FIP, and a 2.7 fWAR. As a member of the starting rotation he has allowed hard contact just 29.3 percent of the time, while his soft contact rate of 21.6 percent has been among the top-10 best in the National League since May 8.

Trevor Williams is just 25-years-old and showed this season why he was once the top pitching prospect of the Miami Marlins. This season Williams emerged as an incredibly reliable middle of the rotation starting pitcher. Since Williams is just 25-years-old and finishing his rookie campaign there is a good chance he will only continue to improve in 2018.

Entering the 2018 season Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon are locked into the top two spots in the Pirate starting rotation. Behind these two, Trevor Williams should slide into the third spot in the team’s rotation.

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2017 has been a fantastic rookie season for Trevor Williams. After being given a spot in the starting rotation he took the ball, ran with it, and never slowed down. Due to this, Williams should be locked into the Pirates’ starting rotation in 2018.