Gavin Williams didn’t arrive in 2026 as Cleveland’s unquestioned ace. He earned that label the hard way, start by start, until the Guardians had no choice but to hand him the ball first in October.
On the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, cleveland.com Guardians beat reporter Paul Hoynes laid out the shift plainly: “This guy has pitched himself into being your lead dog starter, your number one guy in a playoff series,” Hoynes said. “And it wasn’t like that at the start of this season.
Tanner Bibee was in that spot. He was the opening day starter.”
That’s the story of Williams’ season in a nutshell. He began the year as a talented arm in the rotation. He’s finishing it as Cleveland’s clear Game 1 option, the pitcher the Guardians trust most when the lights get brightest.
The stat line says plenty. Williams reached his penultimate start of the season with 244 strikeouts, which was enough to lead the major leagues, at least temporarily.
He also picked up his 14th win and carried a 1.44 ERA across four September starts. Then came Sunday against the Athletics, when he rolled through seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and one walk on 89 pitches.
He likely had enough left for another inning, but there was no reason to press it.
What changed wasn’t the stuff. Williams has always had the power. The leap in 2026 came from command.
After Sunday’s outing, Williams said it himself: “When I throw over the plate, I have a good chance of doing a lot of good things. And that was my biggest goal this year.”
The split between his best work and his roughest outings shows just how much that mattered. A stat shared Monday on the podcast from Codify Baseball had Williams at a 1.94 ERA in his 20 best starts and an 8.39 ERA in his 10 worst. The swing is huge, but the late-season version has been the one Cleveland has seen more and more often.
Joe Noga also passed along a telling observation from Steven Kwan in center field. “Once Gavin Williams gets to strike one on you, you can see the panic in a hitter’s face.
Kwan’s got a really good view from center field. He said you can see the panic because they have to account for and cover so many different pitch shapes and types in an at-bat.”
The sweeper has been a major part of that mix. Williams threw 38 of them on Sunday, and since the start of August that pitch has produced 28 strikeouts. Pair that with the curveball and fastball, and when he’s attacking the zone, hitters are left guessing.
Hoynes also pointed to something that doesn’t always get the same attention as strikeouts and ERA: durability.
“He made 31 starts last year. He’s right at 31 starts this year,” Hoynes said, adding that Williams has become “a solid starter that you can depend on every five days.”
For a pitcher who spent earlier parts of his career bouncing around with injuries and setbacks, that steadiness is a big part of the story.
Williams, though, kept his own summary short. He called his 2026 season “decent.” That’s classic understatement, and it fits a pitcher who has let the work speak for itself as Cleveland moves toward October.
In Other News...
Guardians Moved Within Reach Of October After A Win That Got Tense
The Guardians gave themselves another October boost with a fast start and enough steady work from the mound to hold off a late push. Angel Martnez, David Fry and Nathaniel Lowe all helped build the early cushion, and Parker Messick did his part in a five-inning start before the bullpen took over to finish the job.
Tim Herrin, Craig Yoho, Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith each had a hand in protecting the lead, keeping Cleveland in control even as the game tightened down the stretch. The win leaves the Guardians with a magic number of two to clinch a playoff spot, and depending on how the other results break, it could shrink to one before long. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Are Suddenly One Step Closer To A Clinch After Another Thriller
The Guardians kept finding ways to survive on September 22, outlasting the Red Sox 3-2 in another tight, late-September game that fit the tone of a team trying to finish the job. Nathaniel Lowe provided the decisive blow with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, while Parker Messick did enough in his start to keep Cleveland in position before the bullpen took over.
Cade Smith finished it off and reached 40 saves on the year, a notable marker for a club that has leaned on its late-inning arm all season. The bigger picture is even better for Cleveland: its magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to two, and the Guardians still sit atop the AL Central as the calendar turns toward the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Vogts Late-Game Guardians Move Is Becoming A Real October Weapon
Travis Bazzanas rookie season has come with the usual growing pains, and for Stephen Vogt, that has meant getting creative when games tighten up late. The Guardians manager has turned to Angel Genao as a defensive replacement in key spots, using his versatility around the infield to help shore up a young roster when the margin for error shrinks. It is the sort of September adjustment contenders make when every clean inning and every sure-handed exchange starts to matter more.
Against the Red Sox, that move paid off in a big way, as Genao made a crucial defensive play that helped close out the win and trim Clevelands magic number to clinch a postseason berth. The contrast between the two young infielders has become part of the clubs late-game equation, with Genao offering the steadier glove right now while Bazzana continues to work through the challenges of his first full season. For a team trying to lock down October, those small swaps can carry outsized weight. [Read more 🡒]