Could Gavin Williams become the Cleveland Guardians' ace in 2026? That's the question on everyone's mind, and the buzz is getting louder!
The 2025 season was, in many ways, Gavin Williams' breakout year. He has always been a player with a lot of potential. However, his command and ability to attack the strike zone sometimes held him back.
But everything changed in 2025. Williams unleashed his electric fastball and a dizzying array of offspeed pitches, leading to a career-best 3.06 ERA across 167 2/3 innings.
Could he possibly build on that success in 2026? At least one member of the Guardians' beat thinks so. MLB.com published a story asking each team's beat reporters for one prediction for 2026. Guardians beat reporter Tim Stebbins wrote that he believes Williams will finish in the top three in Cy Young voting.
Gavin Williams: Poised for a Big 2026?
While Williams only has one standout season under his belt, it's not hard to imagine him becoming one of the American League's top starting pitchers. Last season, he had a strikeout rate of 24.6%, largely thanks to a fastball that averaged 96.5 miles per hour.
And here's where it gets interesting: all that success came despite a 11.8% walk rate and a league-leading 66 walks. This means there's a clear path for him to improve even further!
In fact, the entire baseball world witnessed Williams' potential last August. He came within two outs of breaking Cleveland's no-hitter drought against the Mets. That start was part of a scorching second half where he posted a 2.18 ERA across 12 starts before throwing six scoreless innings in his lone postseason start.
The American League Landscape
The pitching landscape in the American League also plays a role. Tarik Skubal has won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards, but there's a good chance the Tigers could trade him at the July deadline. If he's traded to the NL, the Cy Young picture suddenly becomes wide open.
Perhaps the biggest reason for Williams’ success last season was his reliance on his cutter, which he used 14% of the time, holding hitters to a .233 batting average, along with his sweeper, which held hitters to a batting average of just .181.
And, most importantly, he's coming off a season where he set a new career-high in innings by a large margin. Williams wasn't fully right in 2024 after suffering a shoulder injury in spring training, posting a subpar 4.86 ERA in just 76 innings.
But Williams is back, healthy, and better than ever. This could make a huge impact for the Guardians in 2026.
What do you think? Do you agree with the prediction that Williams could be a Cy Young contender? Could he be the ace the Guardians need? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
