Nick Williams (baseball)

Nick Williams
Williams in September 2018
Philadelphia Phillies – No. 5
Outfielder
Born: (1993-09-08) September 8, 1993
Galveston, Texas
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
June 30, 2017, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
(through 2018 season)
Batting average .269
Home runs 29
Runs batted in 105
Teams

Billy Nicholas Williams (born September 8, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Early life

Williams was born and raised in Galveston, Texas.[1] He went to Ball High School in Galveston, graduating in 2012.[2]

Baseball career

Williams was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft out of high school.[3] He had committed to Texas A&M University, but signed with the Rangers.[4]

He made his professional debut in 2012 with the Arizona League Rangers, hitting .313/.375/.448 with two home runs in 201 at-bats over 48 games. He played the 2013 season with the Hickory Crawdads.[5] He played in 95 games during the season, hitting .293/.337/.543 with 17 home runs, 15 walks, and 110 strikeouts over 376 at bats.

Prior to the 2014 season, Williams was ranked by Baseball America as the Rangers fourth-best prospect and the 97th-best overall in baseball.[6][7] Playing for three minor league teams in 2014, he hit .283 with 22 walks and 140 strikeouts in 452 at bats.[8] After the season he played for the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League, and hit .277 with 1 walk and 32 strikeouts in 112 at bats.[8]

On July 31, 2015, Williams was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Matt Harrison, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Alec Asher, and Jerad Eickhoff in exchange for Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman.[9][10]

In 2016, in 125 games at Lehigh Valley in Triple A Williams batted .258 with 13 home runs and 64 RBIs along with a .287 on-base percentage.[11] He walked 19 times, and struck out 136 times in 497 at bats.[11] That season, Manager Dave Brundage benched him a number of times, for disciplinary reasons ranging from him failing to hustle to him showing up opponents.[12] Williams reacted to his benching by his manager, saying: "That’s his decision. I can’t do anything about it."[13] Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said he was concerned about Williams "because we’re trying to establish a culture of playing the game the right way and we want players who grind it out, we want players who show energy."[14] The Phillies added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season.[15]

In 2017, he batted .280 with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs for Lehigh Valley, and walked 16 times while striking out 90 times in 282 at bats.[16] The Phillies promoted Williams to the major leagues on June 30, 2017,[17] and Williams made his MLB debut that night. On July 9, Williams hit his first MLB home run off of Trevor Cahill of the Padres.[18] Nine days later, on July 18 Williams hit his first career grand slam against the Brewers.[19] As to his defense in the outfield and baserunning, beat writer Matt Gelb wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Progress is needed on defense and the bases. Williams has overcome bad reads in the outfield with his speed. But he’s shown cracks there. And, as a baserunner, Williams has committed mental mistakes. His instincts are not the sharpest. Sometimes, raw talent can rise above that."[20] He batted .288 for the season with the Phillies, and walked 20 times while striking out 97 times in 313 at bats.[8]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Nick Williams Stats, Fantasy & News | MLB.com". M.mlb.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  3. ↑ FOX. "FOX 26 Houston News, Weather, Traffic, Sports - KRIV". KRIV. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Writer: Texas A&M baseball picks up 'surprise' signee". College Sports Blog. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Texas-born Williams playing well despite early injury". observernewsonline.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  6. ↑ "2014 Texas Rangers Top 10 Prospects". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  7. ↑ "2014 Baseball America Top 100 Prospects: The 25th Edition". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 "Nick Williams Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  9. ↑ Zolecki, Todd (July 31, 2015). "Hamels' trade to Texas is complete". MLB.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  10. ↑ Badler, Ben (July 31, 2015). "Trade Central: Phillies Get Impact Talent, Depth In Hamels Deal". Baseball America. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Salisbury, Jim (2017-06-30). "The improvements that led the Phillies to call up Nick Williams | NBC Sports Philadelphia". Nbcsports.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  12. ↑ Hotz, Scooter (2017-06-30). ""The Call-Up: Nick Williams"". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  13. ↑ ""Phillies prospect Nick Williams benched - again"". Philly. 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  14. ↑ ""Pete Mackanin 'Concerned' About Nick Williams' Benching" « CBS Philly". Philadelphia.cbslocal.com. 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  15. ↑ "Phillies add 11 players in 40-man roster overhaul". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  16. ↑ Ryan Lawrence (2017-06-30). "Nick Williams set to make MLB debut with Phillies". PhillyVoice. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  17. ↑ Gross, Stephen (June 30, 2017). "No. 4 prospect Nick Williams promoted to Phillies, starting in left field". mcall.com. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Phils hit 6 homers in 7-1 rout of Padres". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  19. ↑ "Nick Williams' 1st career slam lifts Phils over Brewers 5-2". ESPN. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
  20. ↑ "Nick Williams continues to pass tests as Phillies rookie". Philly. 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
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