Taylor Grant Williams (born July 21, 1991) is an American 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna The Algodoneros de Unión Laguna (English: Laguna Union Cottoneers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB). Based in Torreón, Coahuila, they play in the North Division of LMB. History Early years The team was established ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) debut with 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 ...

in 2017 and has also played for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

Amateur career

Williams attended Camas High School in Camas, Washington. He played for the school's baseball team and graduated in 2010. Camas reached the state championship game in 2010. He won the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

trophy at an all-state series. Williams enrolled at

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

and 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, ...

for the

Washington State Cougars baseball The Washington State Cougars baseball team is the varsity college baseball, intercollegiate baseball team of Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. The Cougars' home venue is Bailey–Brayton Field, first opened for the 198 ...

team for one season. In 2012, Taylor pitched

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Cowlitz Black Bears The Cowlitz Black Bears is an amateur baseball team located in Longview, Washington. They play in the West Coast League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The league comprises teams from Canada, Oregon, and Washington. The team's home field ...

of the

West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...

. Discontented with Washington State, he transferred to

Mount Hood Community College Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) is a public community college in Gresham, Oregon, United States, named after Mount Hood. Opened in 1966, MHCC enrolls around 30,000 students each year and offers classes at the main campus in Gresham, as well as ...

, a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

. He then played summer baseball for the

Keene Swamp Bats The Keene Swamp Bats are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,40 ...

of the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

, where he had three members of the

Kent State Golden Flashes baseball The Kent State Golden Flashes baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. The team competes at the NCAA Division I, Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Associati ...

team as his teammates. Based on their recommendations, he transferred to

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

. With the Golden Flashes, Williams had a 10-1

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 2.47

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

and 110

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. He was named to the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

's first-team.

Professional career

Milwaukee Brewers

The

selected Williams in the fourth round, with the 122nd overall pick, of the

2013 MLB Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of t ...

. He signed with the Brewers, receiving a $400,000 signing bonus. After signing, the Brewers assigned Williams to the

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwaukee ...

of the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Pioneer League. In 12 games (six starts) for Helena, he was 3-1 with a 4.25 ERA. He began 2014 with the

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton in the Fox Cities, and are nam ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

before being promoted to the

Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brev ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. In 27 games (17 starts) for the two teams, he had a 9-3 record and 2.72 ERA. Williams missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons while recovering from

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

. The Brewers added Williams to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

following the 2016 season. He played for the

Biloxi Shuckers The Biloxi Shuckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Biloxi, Mississippi, and are named in ref ...

of the Double-A Southern League in 2017 where he compiled a 0-2 record and 3.09 ERA in 22 games (14 starts). Williams was recalled from Biloxi on September 1, 2017, and he made his major league debut on September 6. In 4.2 innings pitched for Milwaukee, he compiled a 1.93 ERA. In 2018, Williams began the season with the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...

and was recalled by Milwaukee on April 8. In 2019 for Milwaukee, Williams recorded a ghastly 9.82 ERA over 12 appearances. The Brewers designated Williams for assignment on February 19, 2020 following the club's acquisition of

Brock Holt Brock Wyatt Holt (born June 11, 1988), nicknamed "The Brock Star", is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nat ...

Seattle Mariners

On February 21, 2020, Williams was claimed off waivers by the

. He served as the team's closer, earning 6 saves and pitching in 14 games with 19 strikeouts in innings.

San Diego Padres

On August 31, 2020, Williams was traded to the

for Matt Brash. He only pitched once for the Padres in 2020, allowing one run while pitching the sixth inning of a win over the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. On June 5, 2021, Williams was placed on the 60-day injured list with right knee inflammation. Williams pitched innings in 2021 for the Padres, giving up one run. On September 3, Williams was designated for assignment by the Padres.

Miami Marlins

Williams was claimed off waivers by the

on September 6, 2021. Williams pitched in six games for the Marlins, posting a 7.11 ERA with 3 strikeouts. On September 22, Williams was designated for assignment by the Marlins. On September 27, Williams elected

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

San Francisco Giants

On March 20, 2022, Williams signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. In 27 appearances for the Triple–A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, he struggled to a 2–1 record and 4.69 ERA with 68 strikeouts across innings pitched. Williams was released by the Giants organization on July 17.

Seattle Mariners (second stint)

On July 22, 2022, Williams signed a minor league contract with the

. Pitching for the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

, he was 2-1 with one save and a 1.14 ERA in innings. Williams elected free agency following the season on November 10. On January 30, 2023, Williams re-signed with the Mariners on a minor league contract that included an invitation to spring training. He made 32 relief outings for Tacoma during the year, struggling to a 7.47 ERA with 30 strikeouts across innings pitched. Williams elected free agency on November 6.

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna

On March 1, 2024, Williams signed with the

of the

. In 47 games, he went 3–0 with a 2.63 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 48 innings of relief. He was selected as a Mexican League All-Star in 2024.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Taylor 1991 births Living people Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Washington (state) Biloxi Shuckers players 21st-century American sportsmen Brevard County Manatees players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players El Paso Chihuahuas players Helena Brewers players Kent State Golden Flashes baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Milwaukee Brewers players Mt. Hood Saints baseball players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players People from Camas, Washington Sacramento River Cats players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Baseball players from Vancouver, Washington Tacoma Rainiers players Washington State Cougars baseball players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players