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'The evolution of a starting pitcher': Gavin Williams' cutter usage a key aspect to 2025
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- 'The evolution of a starting pitcher': Gavin Williams' cutter usage a key aspect to 2025
CLEVELAND — Partially due to a silver lining associated with a stint on the injured list last season, Gavin Williams might have found a key aspect to unlock his pitching arsenal — almost by accident.
Williams, in his first 13 starts this season , is 5-3 with a 3.86 ERA. He's been even better in his last seven outings, posting a 2.89 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings.
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One of the key reasons for this solid stretch after a so-so beginning to 2025 dates back to his time on the injured list last year, when he missed roughly the first half of the 2024 season.
There, his slider effectively began to morph into more of a cutter . And the idea was sprung to eventually include both within his pitch mix, though it would take time.
"Once we started working on [the cutter], we saw the value, we saw the hitters' reaction, and it was taking a little bit of time to up the usage for him to get comfortable with it," said pitching coach Carl Willis . "I think as he has it now, we've seen it almost makes it like a fastball-changeup in the reverse way because his fastball's so hard."
In other words, as hitters tried to key in on his fastball, having the slider was one pitch to keep them off of it. The cutter, almost in-between the two, has added the needed layer of unpredictability. In addition to the cutter, Williams and the Guardians pitching development team are also working on implementing more of a 2-seamer into the mix as well.
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"[Before having the cutter], they were looking for the fastball and knowing they were going to get it," Willis said. "It's still a work in progress, but it's just to give him basically three different hard shapes to keep the barrel off the ball."
Jun 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams (32) celebrates during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Gavin Williams stats
Williams threw 82 innings (3.29 ERA) in his rookie 2023 season. Last year was supposed to be his first full season in the majors, but an elbow injury robbed him of the first half, and he never looked comfortable in the second half.
That set up a crucial 2025, and it's possible that the increased usage of the cutter has not only made him a more effective pitcher, but it's also allowed him to avoid as many blowup days, as it's given him another offering on which to rely when other pitches aren't working that day.
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Considering the injuries to the starting rotation — namely Ben Lively , whose season is over after needing Tommy John surgery — Williams is a major part of the Guardians' hopes of chasing a playoff spot, especially with the offense floundering at the moment.
A slider that morphed into a cutter might have provided part of that needed roadmap.
"Gavin continues to develop," said manager Stephen Vogt . "I think that's the evolution of a starting pitcher developing is you start to understand what makes you great, and that might be different on any given night. And Bo [Naylor] and he identified the cutter [on June 1 against the Angels] as a really good out pitch."
Williams would certainly have preferred at the time to avoid the injured list for roughly half a season. But if it helped lead to the evolution of a cutter he can rely on from start to start, perhaps it can eventually be a price well worth it.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams develops a cutter for 2025
