Ex-top pick still has MLB dreams
Williams underwent Tommy John surgery
The Milwaukee Brewers had high hopes for right-hander Devin Williams when they made him their top overall pick — 54th overall — out of Hazelwood (Mo.) West High School in the 2013 draft.
But not quite as high as those of the 18-year-old himself, who believed with youthful exuberance that he’d be pitching in the major leagues not long after signing his first professional contract for $1.35 million.
“I definitely thought that,” Williams recounted recently. “I remember when I went to Milwaukee to sign my contract I was walking around the stadium with Harvey Kuenn (Jr., the scout who signed him), and we were in the bullpen and I told him that I would be there in two years.
“He just kind of looked at me and was like, ‘Oh, OK. All right. We’ll see.’ ”
Five years later, Williams has yet to realize his goal of pitching off the mound at Miller Park. But he hasn’t lost the belief that it still will happen sometime in the next few seasons.
Now on the verge of turning 24, Williams is wrapping up his sixth year in the Brewers organization and his first since tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow during spring training in 2017.
He was coming off a productive 2016 in which he pitched well enough at Class A Wisconsin to earn a promotion to advanced Class A Brevard County for the final three weeks. Williams made a combined 22 appearances (12 starts) and went 7-5 with a 3.79 earned run average and 94 strikeouts in a career-high 971⁄3 innings.
It was a performance that left Williams eager to begin the 2017 season, with an even bigger jump up the organizational ladder among his goals.
Then came that fateful day in early March in Arizona.
“I think it was my second outing of the spring,” said Williams. “I went out for the first hitter and threw four straight balls and I knew something wasn’t right. Then I threw a fastball to (Nathan) Orf and my whole arm got really hot and I was like, ‘OK, that’s weird.’ The next pitch I threw a slider, and I heard and felt something in my elbow pop.
“I knew something was wrong then.” Williams, whose most serious injury had been a flexor strain that sidelined him early in 2015, suddenly was facing Tommy John surgery. He went under the knife March 23 and spent the rest of 2017 recovering and rehabbing at the Brewers’ Maryvale complex.
“In terms of working out in Arizona I was in there every day doing whatever I could to get better,” he said. “Doing dry work in the mirror, going through my delivery and everything just so I would have that when I started throwing. “I think that helped me.” Williams’ rehab carried over into the start of this season and he continued to progress.
“They were kind of slowing me down when I was coming back,” he said. “They account for setbacks during the throwing program, and I didn’t have any. I honestly don’t think my throwing program got pushed back one time.
“Frank (Neville, athletic training coordinator at Maryvle) down in Arizona wouldn’t let me get in any games until after 121⁄2 months. I felt like I was ready to go before then, but it was probably a good thing that he didn’t let me, honestly.”
Williams put the wraps on his rehab in extended spring training and on June 7 — less than 16 months after surgery — he was back on the mound for advanced Class A Carolina. He threw 43 pitches in a 21⁄3-inning outing and in 12 starts since he’s thrown as many as 58 pitches in a game.
With a 0-3 record and 5.73 ERA his numbers don’t jump off the page. But Williams does have 34 strikeouts in 33 innings and he’s allowed only two home runs.
He should make about three more starts — sticking to around a 60-pitch limit — and then head back to Arizona in the fall for instructionals, during which he’ll taper back with the goal of incrementally trying to increase his workload in 2019 as he gets closer to full health.
“For the most part it’s been pretty positive,” Williams said of his 2018. “I’ve gone through a couple rough patches here and there, but that’s to be expected coming back from TJ and everything. Just as long as I don’t have any arm issues — which I haven’t — that’s really the main goal.
“Sitting out last season wasn’t fun at all. That was pretty tough. But it’s been really good to be back, getting on the mound every five days and getting back into the swing of things. It’s been tough here and there, not performing like you used to or feeling like your usual self. But that’s part of it.”
The surgery and a much-improved talent pool in the minor leagues has left Williams — once a top-10 prospect in the organization — outside the top 30. But he has the potential to get back into the mix next season.
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“Devin has really done a nice job throughout the rehab process working to get back to 100%,” farm director Tom Flanagan said. “He has put himself in a very good position as he builds his innings workload back up.
“Devin needs more innings, but delivery-wise he is pretty clean. He just needs to continue to work on his pace and quicken up his time between pitches. That will help his effectiveness as a pitcher as he moves up the system and to the higher levels.”
His recovery will have a lot to say about whether Williams will join former minor-league teammates such as Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta in Milwaukee in the coming years. But true to form, Williams is looking to buck the odds.
“Hopefully I can get there next year. I want to get there and help as soon as I can,” he said. “I don’t think when I was 18, 19 I had an idea of what it took to get there and what kind of work you have to put in to get to that level. I definitely have a better understanding of that now.”