How Should Pirates View Alika Williams Moving Forward?
The Pittsburgh Pirates were anticipating a few of their notable infield prospects to be called up in 2023. Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero, and Jared Triolo each got a taste of the bigs with the Bucs. One prospect that wasn’t factored in, before the season began, was Alika Williams.
Williams joined the Pirates’ organization on June 2nd, after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, for reliever Robert Stephenson.
During the 2020 MLB Draft, Tampa Bay selected Williams as a first round competitive balance pick (37th overall) out of Arizona State.
Prior to the trade, Baseball America regarded Williams as the best defensive shortstop, within the Rays’ system.
When Williams arrived to the Pirates’ organization, he reported to AAA Indianapolis, where he played shortstop and second base. In 148 plate appearances, for the Indians, Williams slashed an impressive .305/.384/.531 line.
With a season-ending injury to Oneil Cruz, the Pirates were looking at different options to play shortstop, and Williams received his MLB call up on July 25th.
Unfortunately for Williams, the big league level had overwhelmed him, as he batted just .198, in 112 plate appearances. He posted a .303 BABIP, so there was no sign of bad luck at the plate. While Williams did have a pretty good, BB rate of 8.0%, he struck out 31.3% of the time, which is high, for someone that has average at best power.
The defense however was as advertised for Williams. He played exclusively short in Pittsburgh, registering +2 Defensive Runs Saved, along with a 0.4 dWAR, in 46 games.
Based on the abysmal, offensive numbers, most thought Williams would be in DFA limbo this offseason, but he’s been able to survive the Pirates’ 40-man roster. There’s no doubt that Cherington likes Williams’ defensive prowess, and you could argue that his overall defense is the best of any middle infielder who is currently on the 40.
Although Williams is expected to compete for a roster spot in Spring Training, it’s likely that he would begin the year with Indianapolis, especially since he has all three of his minor league options remaining.
Williams should be looked upon as AAA middle infield depth, and to be recalled in case of an injury. If Williams finds his way back to Pittsburgh in 2024, then he needs to vastly improve his approach at the plate, which even if he performs around league average, or slightly below, would get Pirates’ management to believe in him more, given that his defense is already big league caliber.