Milwaukee Brewers Taylor Williams to Have Tommy John Surgery
By David Hill
The Milwaukee Brewers had done a tremendous job in revamping their minor league system at the trade deadline. However, the received bad news in regards to one of their prospects, as they learned that Taylor Williams will need to undergo Tommy John surgery, putting the entirety of his 2016 season in question.
#Brewers pitching prospect Taylor Williams will have Tommy John surgery Tuesday. Miss all or most of next year.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) August 8, 2015
This is a major loss for Williams, who was the Brewers’ eleventh ranked prospect, and the 367th prospect in baseball according to Top500Prospects.com entering the season. He had been impressive during Spring Training, yet had to be shut down shortly thereafter due to discomfort in his elbow. While this injury was initially considered not to be serious in nature, Williams had yet to pitch this season. Now, with this news, Williams may well lose two full seasons.
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Last year, Taylor Williams was able to establish himself as one of the Milwaukee Brewers better pitching prospects. During that 2014 season, split between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Brevard County Manatees, Williams posted a 9-3 record with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.020 WHiP, striking out 137 batters against a mere 28 walks in 132.1 innings of work. That ability to generate strikeouts, coupled with his control, certainly made it appear as though Williams had a bright future.
Despite being a bit undersized at 5’11” and 195 lbs, Williams has a fastball that can sit in the mid 90’s and has a solid slider. While his future as a starter is questionable, mainly due to his size and the lack of a quality third pitch, Williams certainly appears to have the ability to succeed, regardless of role. However, his future may well be determined by how he comes back from this procedure.
Should his command and pure stuff remain intact, the Brewers could find themselves with an interesting dilemma. Williams could prove to be a dominant force out of the bullpen, especially given his tendency to generate ground balls. Given the effort of his dellivery, would it be better for the Brewers to transition Williams into a relief role?
As it stands, the Milwaukee Brewers will see one of their more intriguing prospects in Taylor Williams undergo Tommy John Surgery. Chances are, he will not be back until the 2017 season.