Guardians' top prospect to debut, and it will be loud

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

If you’re planning to watch the Guardians game against the A’s on Wednesday, maybe you should turn the volume up on your television just a little. If you’ll be in the stands, I’m sure it’ll be impossible to block out the noise that’ll come from the Williams clan somewhere inside Progressive Field.

It’s Gavin Williams Day on Wednesday. The team’s top prospect will be making his Major League debut. With only 37 Minor League starts under his belt, it wasn’t a long wait for the 23-year-old righty to accomplish his dream, but this moment surely has been much-anticipated. Not just for fans, but for his family.

Williams sat atop the Progressive Field media room dais, fielding questions for the first time as a big leaguer. He won’t officially be called up until Wednesday, but he was able to soak in his first big league experience 24 hours before his debut, allowing him to get acclimated.

Just two days prior to arriving in Northeast Ohio, Williams was with Triple-A Columbus in Omaha, getting called into his manager’s office to talk about “pitching stuff.” Columbus skipper Andy Tracy is known for his tricks leading up to giving his players the news they’ve waited their whole lives to hear. But after a few minutes of his fake conversation, he revealed that Williams would make his debut on Wednesday.

“I have no words for it, really,” Williams said. “I don’t know how to describe it right now, but I guess in the next week, or so, I’ll be able to.”

The first call Williams made was to his Mom and luckily, he said, she was with his grandparents and sister, so he only had to dial his phone once.

“She started screaming about two seconds into the phone call,” Williams said. “So, I don’t really know what happened after that.”

It was the first of many screams.

As Williams finished his first media session, someone in the Guardians’ PR staff said they heard he was going to have 55 friends and family members in attendance and asked if that was true.

“It’s probably somewhere around there,” Williams said. “It’s probably the whole state of North Carolina.”

Williams is fully expecting his clan to be rowdy on Wednesday, as any family would be watching their loved one toe the rubber on the biggest stage. The rest of the crowd will likely follow suit, considering Williams has been in the spotlight since he was drafted in 2021. He’s struck out 230 batters in 175 1/3 innings in his Minor League career and he’s hopeful that his stuff will translate at this level.

But regardless of the outcome, the Guardians have officially entered a new generation of pitching talent. The Williams family will be there to share this moment with him and if you can hear them in the background or experience the debut with them at the park, you’ll be reminded that these are the moments that make baseball the best.