Austen Thomas Williams (born December 19, 1992) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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who played for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

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(MLB) in 2018 and 2019.

Career

After graduating from Southwest Christian School, Williams enrolled at

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

. He was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

. Williams struggled in 2016 and 2017, including in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

, where he pitched for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was establi ...

. Moved from the rotation into the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever in 2018, Williams prospered for the Double–A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

, being named an Eastern League All-Star and earning a promotion by August to the Triple–A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

for the first time. After Williams posted a 1.19 ERA across 68 innings for Double–A Harrisburg and Triple–A Syracuse, the Nationals selected Williams' contract on September 1, 2018, adding him to the major league pitching staff following a trade that sent

Gio González Giovany Aramis González (born September 19, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox. A two-time ...

to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

. He made his major league debut the next day, striking out two Brewers in two relief innings. Williams did not appear for Washington in 2020, and did not play in a game for the organization due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

on October 9, 2020. Williams became a free agent on November 2.

Pitching style

On the mound, Williams employs a three-pitch mix, with a sinking fastball that tops out around , a breaking ball variously described as a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

or a slider, and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

. Since moving to the bullpen after the 2017 season, Williams has focused more on a fastball-slider combination while building his velocity.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Austen 1992 births Living people Baseball players from Fort Worth, Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen Texas State Bobcats baseball players Gulf Coast Nationals players Auburn Doubledays players Hagerstown Suns players Potomac Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Syracuse Chiefs players Fresno Grizzlies players Mesa Solar Sox players