You can be forgiven if Chicago Cubs minor league prospect Ryan Williams wasn’t on your radar heading into this season. It’s been the usual story for the 23-year-old from Morgan Hill, Calif. has been falling through the cracks for years.
But after going 10-2 in Double-A for the Tennessee Smokies and 16-4 as a starter since being drafted in the 10th round of the 2014 MLB draft, that’s never going to happen again. Williams and his 2.57 ERA over the last year and a half have everyone’s attention.
Want to help one of NooDy's buddies? Vote for Ryan Williams of the Tennessee Smokies http://t.co/1sjeBqNz8V
— Cup Of NooDy (@CupofNooDy) September 3, 2015
“The philosophy I came in with was just to throw strikes,” Williams said. “I didn’t think I needed to overpower anybody. I don’t have that 95-plus (mph.) fastball. I’m just here to make contact, throw strikes and let my defense do the work. The pressure is off me at that point. I think that helped me make the jump.”
Ryan Williams didn’t have a lot of bargaining power as a senior coming out of East Carolina University in 2014. Unlike most players currently with the Tennessee Smokies, Williams wasn’t drafted first out of high school and was overlooked as a junior in college.
Williams Dazzles, Smokies Win 6th Straight: Tennessee starting pitcher Ryan Williams fired six shutout innings… http://t.co/ndRio38J7Y
— JoeCamel (@JoeCamel_Sports) September 1, 2015
So instead of the six-figure signing bonuses some other draft picks go, Williams got $1,000 from the Chicago Cubs after being picked in the 10th round. Williams saw the road he took to professional baseball as a positive part of his career path.
“It’s nice to come out and set some goals and do that,” Williams said. “It was actually nice not to have to make that decision after high school or my junior year. I learned a lot by going to college for four years. I had a great pitching coach in Dan Rozelle. It was beneficial in helping me transfer from the college game to the pro game. Having that extra year was big for me.”
Williams was picked in the same draft as catcher Kyle Schwarber, the All-Star that began the season with the Smokies and is currently starring for the Cubs in the major leagues. With all the attention on prospects and position players, Williams was able to go unnoticed by the media before unleashing one of the best pitching seasons in minor league baseball.
Tennessee Smokies pitcher Ryan Williams won Double-A Pitcher of the Week: http://t.co/YtOpnaTdjv #Cubs pic.twitter.com/W3GfwwXe7k
— Sun-Times Sports (@suntimes_sports) August 17, 2015
“Those guys (the position player prospects) deserved it (the recognition),” Williams said. “You see what they’re doing with the big league club. It was pretty special to watch. The spotlight was on them and I was able to just come to the ballpark and work each day. I could better my game and have fun watching them do their thing. It was pretty special.”
Williams is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds and looks in every way like the big league starter he seems destined to be. Williams opened the season in Low-A South Bend, jumped High-A Myrtle Beach completely, and not only finished as one of the Smokies best pitchers, but could end up the Cubs minor league pitcher of the year.
“You can never expect something like that,” Williams said. “It would be a great honor to get, but it’s really about staying focused and coming to the field each day. I work on fine-tuning my game and trying to learn everything I can from the pitchers around me.”
Prospect Watch
The Smokies finished with a 76-63 record on a team that was decimated not so much by injuries, but by the success of its players. Schwarber was their best offensive weapon in the first half of the season, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. He’s one of the Cubs best offensive weapons since being called up to Chicago. A few injuries, like to Dan Vogelbach, did affect the Smokies, but it was losing key roster pieces to Team USA in the Pan Am games that really doomed the team. The losses the Smokies took in that stretch cost them a shot in the Southern League postseason.
Five Smokies will continue on in their development this year. Pitchers Pierce Johnson, Corey Black and Rob Zastyzny, along with catcher Willson Contreras and infielder Jeimer Candelario were all selected to play in the Arizona Fall League. Contreras will bring the Southern League batting title with him to Mesa, ending the season with a .333 average, 34 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 75 RBIs.
