Kendall Williams A Closer Look
At the trade deadline, the Dodgers sent right-hander Ross Stripling to the Toronto Blue Jays. Certainly, a number of fans, myself included, were sorry to see Ross go. I do think it is a good move for him where he can be assigned a definite role, most likely a shot at a regular starting assignment. That certainty should help him out not having to be concerned that each start will
At the trade deadline, the Dodgers sent right-hander Ross Stripling to the Toronto Blue Jays. Certainly, a number of fans, myself included, were sorry to see Ross go. I do think it is a good move for him where he can be assigned a definite role, most likely a shot at a regular starting assignment. That certainty should help him out not having to be concerned that each start will be his last. As he approaches free agency, he may well acquire more leverage than he currently has.
In exchange the Dodgers received two players to be named later. Eric Stephen on SBNation postulated that at least one of the PTBNL would come from this list.
- Orelvis Martinez SS/3B
- Gabriel Moreno C
- Miguel Hiraldo IF
- CJ Van Eyk RHP
- Eric Pardinho RHP
- Alan Kloffenstein RHP
- Kendall Williams RHP
- Rekelvin De Castro SS
- Estiven Machado SS
- Otto Lopez 2B/SS
He was correct as Kendall Williams was soon announced as the first of the two to be named later. It seems unlikely another will come from that list as all are on the Blue Jays’ Top-30 list at No. 19 or much better. Rikelvin De Castro (No.19) and Estiven Machado (No.17) are both international signings and as teenagers have not yet started their professional careers.
The right-handed Williams was selected by the Blue Jays in the second round of the 2019 June Draft with the 52nd pick. He was born in Olive Branch, Mississippi and grew up and attended school in his home town.
His early life presented a challenge as his parents divorced when he was just 12 years old. During the next few years, his relationship with his father grew stronger and stronger. His dad, Brent, worked long hours as the owner of a construction company yet always had time for his son playing countless hours of ball with him. He would play catch, pitch to him, field ground balls and simply fostered a love for the game.
“I look up to him and his opinion holds a lot of weight for me,” Williams told Blue Jays Nation of his father. “I put my head into baseball, and it was a little bit of a safe place for me.”
He played for his high school team in Olive Branch until the end of the semester in his sophomore year in January 2017. At that point he made a big decision. That is, to move to Bradenton, Florida and enroll at IMG Academy which is a noted preparatory boarding school. His move away from his family to further his baseball skills paid off very quickly as Baseball America ranked him the 17th-best prep prospect in the 2019 MLB draft class.
“I told my dad that this is the place I need to go to get me where I want to be,” Williams said. “This gives me the best shot. We made it happen, and I’ve been happy ever since and have made big strides forward.”
On the year as a senior in 2019 Williams posted a 6-0 record along with a 0.91 ERA and 69 strikeouts over 46 innings pitched. He walked 15 and held opponents to a .139 batting average against him. MaxPreps selected him to its High School Baseball All-American Team as a member of the second team.
Following his graduation Williams had to decide between joining the elite baseball program at Vanderbilt or begin a professional career if selected in the 2019 draft. Well not quite, although he expected to get drafted it is never a sure thing but he had a strong indication that the Blue Jays had a definite interest.
The Blue Jay interest was a bit hard to disguise as their Tampa area scout, Brandon Bishoff, was at every single one of his games during his senior year at IMG. Williams and Bishoff developed somewhat of a relationship through their early conversations.
“He always came up and talked to me, and I got a really good vibe from him,” Bishoff said. “He was a player that stayed at the top of my list throughout the year and he was a kid that I really did get to know well.”
On one occasion Williams acknowledged Bishoff in the stands while the 6’6” righty was doing his stretching exercises. That was unusual and noted by his catcher who was surprised by the gesture. His comment to the scout:
“ He must like you, because he doesn’t talk to anyone on game days!”
He didn’t go into the draft with a specific number in mind he needed to sign and, after a lengthy discussion with his family, decided that if it was only his baseball abilities that needed to be honed, he could do that at the professional level. He did sign on for $1,403,200.
He attributes the move to IMG Academy and his own hard work for the opportunity he has been given to pursue a MLB career.
Williams said he “would not go back and change” his decision to attend IMG Academy and believes “ultimately it will pay off,” even though he had to move away from his family.
“It’s surreal,” Williams said. “I never thought I’d be in these shoes as a young kid. Now that I’m here, it’s really bittersweet because I know that I put all this work in throughout my whole life for this one goal.”
He became good friends with fellow right-hander Brennan Malone at IMG and the two fed off each other and pushed each other during their time together at the Academy. Malone was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 32nd overall selection in the 2019 draft.
“I’m actually super excited that I got him down here, and he was on my team,” Williams said. “We got to go through all of this together. We push each other in the weight room, classroom and on the field.”
So what else do we know about Kendall Williams?
We do know he stands 6’6” tall and weighs 205 pounds and he will now become teammates with right-hander 6’6”/200-pound Jimmy Lewis who was selected by the Dodgers with the 78th overall pick in the same draft. Perhaps one day Williams and Lewis will be teammates with 6’6”/180-pound right-hander Dustin May.
This other tidbit is from BLUEJAYS NATION.
We do know, by his own admission, that he is not in awe of analytics and numbers although he understands their significance.
“I think it’s cool, but I’ll never be one of those people that’ll ride or die by the numbers,” he remarked. “Numbers don’t mean everything, but there’s definitely some importance in having good numbers.”
We also know he had a strong rookie league debut in 2019 with the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. He pitched to an ERA of 1.13 in 16.0 innings, striking out 19 and walking just seven in five starts. He was not sure where he would be assigned for the 2020 season but was not overly concerned where the assignment might be. With the 2020 season gone belly up Williams now can think about where he might go to start the 2021 season. I am hoping with the Great Lakes Loons.
“I try to control the controllable,” he said of his 2020 season. “You just have to put your head down, do your stuff, and people will notice. You’ll get moved as soon as you need to get moved.”
What does Andrew Friedman think about his latest acquisition?
“We are definitely getting a guy that we like and feel like will fit in really well with our next crop of prospects that are coming and then another guy that will come from a bigger list that we’ll have some time to work through.”
What do others say?
MLB Pipeline ranked Williams as the 13th-best prospect in the Jays’ farm system, calling him “the quintessential projectable high school right-hander” with “potentially huge upside.” The 6’6″ right-hander has a fastball that is approaching mid-90’s velocity, though his biggest asset could be his overall four-pitch arsenal rather than any one signature offering.
Baseball America’s scouting report cites Williams’ slider, curveball, and changeup “could all be average or better.”
Jonathan Mayo, who covers the draft and the minors for MLB.com, said on MLB Network’s broadcast last night right after the announcement of Williams’ selection, that the 18-year-old will throw harder once he gets into professional baseball.
The longtime general manager of the Rockies, who now serves as an analyst for MLB Network, Dan O’Dowd, praised the Blue Jays’ second selection:
“This is a great value pick for where we are in the draft.”
Williams stands out with his size of 6-foot-6, 208-pounds, and has a five-pitch arsenal, something unusual for a prep pitcher. He throws the four-seamer, two-seamer, curveball, changeup, and slider. His fastball sits in the low 90’s while regularly touching 94mph, according to MLB.com’s scouting report.
MLB.com, one year ago, gave the following scouting grades to Williams: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50. According to MLB.com “Players are graded on a 20-80 scale for future tools — 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average.”
According to MLB.com’s scouting report, Williams’ fastball has creeped up to the mid-90s and he has a 2023 estimated big league arrival:
“There’s a lot to dream on and potentially huge upside, though he’ll need time to develop and refine his craft in the Minors.”
Perfect Game wrote up an early April, 2019 start at a major tournament, the NHSI in North Carolina:
He worked in a full arsenal of off-speed pitches as well, all of them flashing at least average. The curveball is his preferred breaking ball, thrown in the upper-70s with 12-to-6 to 11-to-5 shape, showing power depth and spin when he’s on top of it. It’s a pitch that could be projected as plus long term. His changeup was actually better than the curveball for a fair amount of his time on the mound, thrown in the 81-84 mph range with outstanding tumbling action and fade to the arm side. He throws the pitch with conviction and trust, and it accounted for a great deal of the swings-and-misses he elicited on this day. There were also flashes of a slider, a pitch he’s been trying to master for a while now and seems to have found a grip that he likes and is comfortable with. It’s not as consistent yet as the rest of the arsenal, but he broke off a couple with sharp tilt and firmer velocity from his curveball.
Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs rated Williams as the 16th-best prospect in the Blue Jays’ system, noting: Williams had some cross-bodied mechanical violence as an amateur that might be ironed out in pro ball, and already may have been. He had a Mike Clevinger look in the bullpen this spring. Whether or not more velo comes, Williams is already a big, strong kid whose fastball has been up to 96, and he creates vertical depth on his breaking ball. There’s sizable relief risk here because of the delivery, but No. 4 starter ceiling if that’s corrected or overcome.
Kiley McDaniel at ESPN wrote of Williams
“He was dealing fastballs up to 96 mph and flashed three average-to-above pitches in high school, but with a delivery that needs some work.”
Keith Law at The Athletic in February said Williams was,
“a projectable right-hander from Florida who is 6-foot-6 and can show both velocity and spin on breaking stuff. But he needs help with consistency in his delivery and also has some physical maturation ahead of him.”
Time is needed to develop and refine his craft with consistency of delivery as he matures. The Dodgers player development team has gained a bit of reputation for doing just that. It seems that Kendall Williams is on the same page.
“I’m really big on the little things,” Williams cleverly remarked. “The biggest thing we’ve worked on is the smoothness and effectiveness of my delivery without outputting as much work.”
In the following video from his first professional season Williams indicated his mound mentality is that of a bulldog looking to send the hitter back to the dugout in any way he can. Huh!
More from Dodger Talk
Mouth Breather
DISCLAIMER: I swore long ago that I would never write this… BUT, here I am doing it! I could not resist. Also, I am truly sorry if I offend anyone. Many years ago, when my wife had a series of ice cream shops, she hired a new girl, and I asked how she was doing. Her response…
The Friedman Interview
Here is the video of the interview I did with Andrew Friedman on April 1, 2025, in the Dodgers’ Dugout right before the game. Enjoy! It’s just a casual conversation… I am not trying to be a “super announcer.” I’m just a fan interviewing the President of Dodger Baseball…
A Great Night at the Ravine
We arrived at Dodger Stadium at 4:30 for the 7:10 game. Jon Weisman, who is the Dodgers VP of Communications and someone I have known for twenty-plus years, left me a Media Credential which is a “Get out of Jail Free Card” – it takes you anywhere in the stadium. My wife, son…
Andrew Friedman Cost Me Many Friends
About ten years ago, when Andrew Friedman was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers, I was ecstatic, but most Dodger fans were not! In fact, not only were most fans not happy, but they were flat-out opposed to Andrew Friedman and blasted and ridiculed him at every opportunity they…
Discussion (91)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Durocher did beat the Dodgers in the 1951 WS, though he cheated to do it (which kind of proves my point!).
Ferget about it! Over and done. Rockies made some spectacular defensive plays, they beat the shift 3 times in one inning,. and they had a pinch hitter come through. Doc stuck to his script for the year so far, and Treinen had a bad inning. Stuff happens. Rocks are still under .500, and that was their first win over the Dodgers this year. No biggie. Beat them tomorrow, They have a kid pitcher going and the Dodgers have Mark’s pick to click, Urias. Joc still sucks though, and they hit into 3 double plays, of course that is Roberts fault right?
Dodgers picked a good time to lose one. The Pads lost, the Braves lost, and the Cubs lost 2. They are still up 6.0 games over the Pads and Braves and 6.5 games over the Cubs. The best record in the AL is Tampa Bay. The Dodgers are 2.5 games better than the Rays.
Yes, when the Dodgers win, it is in spite of Doc, and when they lose it’s because of Doc.
Those of you who continually beat that drum have ZERO credibility with me and very little respect.
I simply cannot take you seriously!
the same like Pollock
4 Denver hitters hit exactly like old-fashioned. i like that style
Roberts should never have pulled Gonzo. Look what has happened. Wood over McGee?
Dodgers will have to come back, again!! Do they have it in them, this time?
Uh-oh, Wood just gave up two more runs. 🙁
Denver beating the Clips!
The bullpen is coming back down to earth as I unfortunately expected. Still a good bullpen though.
MadBum comes off the IL to face the Giants. He leaves after 4 losing 2-1. He threw 72 pitches, 44 for strikes. 2 walks, 2 K’s, and 2 HR’s.
Amazing. When one of Doc’s moves backfires, he gets torched. For some when his moves do work he still gets torched. Some just do not like Dave Roberts, and that is okay.
Pitch count is getting up there for the Goose. Looking for the pen and the bats to bail him out.
In my opinion It’s past time for Doc to give CONSISTENT AT BATS to Lux, Rios, Beaty to find out if any should be starting games in the playoffs. Also CONSISTENT at bats for Pollock against righties to find out if he hits them consistently.
We need answers to those question marks. And no matter who plays the remainder of the regular season we are going to the playoffs.
There are only 6 guys in my opinion that are CLEARLY everyday starters in the playoffs. Smith, Bellinger, Muncy. Betts, Seager, Turner. The rest of the spots are to be determined.
Cubs release Jharel Cotton….
Was he, is he, or could he still be a good pitcher?
It’s obviously not very good, right?
Jeff can you repost the article you wrote on Jake Vogel on June 18? You did a great job with a lot of research into it.
Tonight’s lineup:
Mookie
Seager
Muncy
Belli
Joc (DH)
Pollock
Lux
Rios (3b)
Barnes
Gonsolin
Jansen is 32.
He’s getting older. His performance will drop. A further drop-off in effectiveness should be anticipated.
He’s still near elite, but no longer elite. But does this mean he’s no longer the closer? Of course not.
Vogel was just added to the 60 man pool per Twitter and Dodger Report.
Talent wise, this 2020 team is every bit as good as the 2017 version if not better. This team has added Mookie, Muncy and AJ. Corey Seager has improved even more than the 2017 version. 2B is still…well a hope and a prayer. Everyone continues to say that Smith is superior than Barnes, and I really do not disagree, except when Kershaw pitches. Belli and JT are still Belli and JT.
CK is back even better than 2017. Buehler is better than the 2017 Yu Darvish. The #4 starter, Alex Wood is the #6 on this team. May and Gonsolin should be better than Hill and Wood. No I did not forget Julio Urias who I do not believe is as good as are May and Gonsolin. The 2017 bullpen with KJ, Brandon Morrow, and Maeda was dominant, but after them??? Fields, Baez, Strip, Watson, and McCarthy. Strip isn’t considered good enough to make this year’s post season bullpen, and what bullpen would not be better without Brandon McCarthy?
I do not know who will make the final bullpen roster, but overall it will be far superior than the 2017 version. Without the dominant KJ, one thought I had was, IMO Tony Gonsolin is a superior starting pitcher than is Julio Urias. However, not that much better that AF and Doc have to consider putting Gonsolin in as the closer. For one inning, his fastball and change combo is unhittable. I think Gonsolin could impact a short series more as a closer (any late inning high leverage situation) than as a 4th starter. I really cannot think of another playoff caliber team that would have a better #4 than Urias. Gonsolin could solidify an already good bullpen. Just a thought.
We all know that the cheating Asterisks stole the WS, but what they were really missing was that ONE player who would not allow them to lose. 1988 had Kirk Gibson in one AB show the Dodgers they were good enough to beat more talented NYM and Oakland teams. This year, Mookie is that guy. He just makes everyone around him play better in that moment. This 2020 team refuses to lose. Last night’s game was just ANOTHER example. Most teams would have surrendered after the slam. Not LAD. The spirit of Mookie lives in the souls of the Dodger players.
18 out of 21. Yes they are teams they should beat, but they are beating them. The one game I felt that they lost more than the other team beating them was the Friday night game against the Giants. While the 2017 team was loaded, this team wound never go on a 1-16 streak as the 2017 team did. The 2020 team is special, and poised to win it all. Last night was just a snapshot.
Some observations:
Please, get Joc off the field. Or, better yet, get off the team. He just continues to disrespect the game, the fans, the Dodger organization, and his teammates. I can’t believe Roberts let’s him get away with his lack of effort. Yeah, just release him now. If Hoese is hitting so well at USC (as Lux states) then bring him up and see what he can do. We need a RH bat for DH. What do the Dodgers have to lose (just Joc, which is nothing)?
Agree with those who said we need to start firming up an everyday lineup. Such as:
Smith C
Muncy 1B
Lux 2B (either make or break it)
Seager SS
Turner 3B (Rios for days off)
Pollack LF
Bellinger CF
Betts RF
Did anyone notice Senzatela when left the mound after being pulled. He walks off mound kisses his fingers and points to the sky, crosses himself, pounds his glove and lets out an F bomb. Whaaat? The full spectrum in less than 15 seconds. Funny stuff.
I really enjoy watching Will Smith hit. Developing a great eye. Has hit the ball hard all season and is now starting to see the ball drop in for him. When he hits a home run it never looks like more than a fly ball to the OF when it leaves his bat. It just keeps carrying until it clears the outfield wall. Amazing power from someone who looks like he’s in high school. Love watching him throw out runners stealing. Very calm when he releases the ball and seems to be focused on accuracy as supposed to rushing the release and throwing it hard.
Watching Kenley the other night against Arizona I’m thinking “this is the guy we’re depending on to close games in the playoffs”? Oh my. I continually buy into “now Kenley has it figured out” or “his velo has increased” hype. Bottom line, Kenley has no idea where the ball is going when he releases it. It’s been that way the last three years. Hopefully, the Dodgers are planning a replacement closer for next year and relegate Kenley to a 7/8th inning guy. I know 20 million is a lot to pay for non closer, but we’ve received good value for Kenley over his entire career. When it’s time, it’s time.
It’s fun watching Bellinger and Muncy start to have success at the plate. Felt so bad for Muncy. He’s been so solid for the Dodgers. I kept waiting for the bubble to burst with Max, but he’s the real deal. What a find! With Belli, hitting well during the regular season is expected and he usually doesn’t disappoint. But, it’s the playoffs where he needs to be a star. I just came a across a stat that showed he has a 39% SO rate in playoff appearances. Hopefully, this year that can change.
Finally, the entire pitching staff has been outstanding. I would like to see Roberts let the starters go further into the game. Seems like 4-5 innings is the acceptable outing this season. Like 7 innings the last 20 years and like 9 innings were in the 20th century. Look forward for starting pitching salaries to fall if that’s the case. Who’s going to pay $25-35 million for 150-175 innings a year (5 innings x 30 starts)?
MLB had an interesting story about the 15 most likely trade candidates this winter. Top of the list was Badgers favorite SS, Lindor. Story of the Rockies was on the list too. Bryant of the Cubs. Interesting to me was the inclusion of Andujar who was the Yanks 3rd baseman not too long ago, but now is playing the outfield some since his fielding is a little iffy at 3rd. But the 2 names I really perked up over were Iglesias of the Reds, and Hader. Texans signed Watson to a 4 year, 160 million dollar deal….WOW……Naturally the Lakers looked pretty bad against the Rockets. I attribute that to the long layoff before they could play. It will be a different story in game 2.
I too have long supported Joc, and defended him more than a few times. But his lack of hustle, and his body language seem to suggest he really is not giving it his all. Maybe being traded and then suddenly not traded affected his mental state. But I also think it might have a little to do with his being a new father and missing some time with his kid. Whatever the reason, they need some sort of consistency out of the guy. He will play every game of this series since all of the Rockie starters are RH. He is streaky. And with the homer last night maybe he is beginning one of those streaks. Pollock has been at least a close clone of the player he was when he first came up. He hustles all the time, does not take bad at bats out to the field, and he has begun to hit RHP which he was not doing earlier. .270 with 8 dingers and 20 RBI’s being platooned is pretty good. Muncy seems to have awakened from his slumber also. 3 players, Betts, Muncy and Belli have double digit homers so far. Pollock and Seager within easy striking distance of that. And with a little more consistency, Joc could reach double digits too.. Smith with 5 has an outside chance. Dodgers have raised their team BA to .254. 3rd in the NL, SD has dropped some points and now is only 8 points in front of LA at .262. LA leads in homers, and trails in total runs by 1.
1.- If Price decides to opt back, welcome, an arm with more experience will always be very helpful.
2.- We all know that Jensen is not the most reliable, he is no longer, the league knows it, that is why Treinen was hired, why don’t they let him close the games?
3.- It is true that sometimes it seems that some players do not run faster to the base, what you mention about Joc is true, but he is not the only one, last night Seager looked the same when he grounded for doubleday, it seems that they have the “Manny syndrome”
4.- If you think the Colorado commentators are bad, you should listen to the San Diego commentators …. They talk about the players and the plays as if they were gods!
Congrats to Trout who last night tied Salmon for the career lead in homers. Angels sure like their fish. 299 already? WOW. Yankees were expected by many to be in the World Series with all the talent on that team. They will be lucky to win the wild card the way things are going for them injury wise. Their two big guns, Stanton and Judge are both still out. DC has zero chance of making the playoffs. How far the mighty have fallen. A J Ramos was signed by the Rockies. His 3rd team in less than 3 weeks. One thing this really weird season has done is allow a lot of players I have never heard of to be in the majors. On the Rockies homer broadcast last night they mention some insane number of players have made their debut this season. Not sure of the actual number because the old memory of recent things is a little iffy, but it was well over 100. Got an old Wally Moon card yesterday. I can close my eyes and hear Vin calling another Moon shot. Ahh the good old days at that classic ball yard. the LA Coliseum.