Nick Williams
Nick Williams may be the new kid on the block, but he is sure stealing the spotlight since he debuted. In his first 25 major-league games, Williams has four home runs with an .831 OPS (115 OPS+). He has already driven in 19 runs in his young major-league career and will continue to drive in more in the team’s middle of the order.
The biggest question is if Williams can sustain this success. 25 percent of his fly balls are going for home run and that rate is sure to come down at some point. There are only 17 qualified hitters with a home-run-to-fly-ball rate that high, and they are all the league’s premier power hitters: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, George Springer, Khris Davis, etc. If Williams can hit with the power of those guys, great, but we have to see it over a longer period of time first.
On the other hand, Williams consistently makes good contact when he hits the ball, inducing a soft hit just 12.9 percent of the time. No pitch has really hurt him other than the splitter and knuckleball, which few pitchers have. His walk rate of about five percent is all you’re going to get out of him, but if the power is real, it won’t matter.
Williams is the least established of the three current major-league outfielders and would be the first one to be replaced if the team – for some reason – decides to bring in another free agent outfielder. If Williams continues to produce the way he has for the next two months, they shouldn’t have to bring anyone in.