Phillies: 3 Important Things to Know About Luke Williams
2. The Phillies need depth and Luke Williams can play almost every position.
If the 2021 Phillies have proven anything so far, it is the importance of having reliable depth at every position. The Joe Girardi-led team has not been at full strength for quite some time, with right-fielder Bryce Harper, catcher J.T. Realmuto, and shortstop Didi Gregorius all missing action in recent weeks due to their respective injuries.
The team will have at least two of the three stars (Harper and Realmuto) in their lineup for the third straight game Tuesday evening, as they welcome their division-rival Atlanta Braves to Citizens Bank Park and attempt to overtake them in the standings.
In the event the Phillies need a spare outfielder or infielder, Williams could be the perfect fallback option. This season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley the Illinois native notably played second base, third base, shortstop, left field, center field, and right field. Combined, he did not commit a single error, including across 27 innings at shortstop (nine chances) and 22 innings in the outfield (six chances).
Ronald Torreyes will be the Phillies' starting shortstop for now. Joe Girardi said he'd be comfortable sticking Luke Williams at SS. There's optimism that Didi Gregorius (elbow) could begin a minors rehab later this week.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) June 8, 2021
Currently, the Phillies only have Brad Miller and Ronald Torreyes as backups to Jean Segura at second base and Alec Bohm at third base. Torreyes has received regular playing time at shortstop in place of Gregorius, however that left only second base starter Segura as his backup. In other words, the Phillies would have been extremely thin in the infield had they not promoted Williams while demoting fellow rookie Nick Maton.
It will be interesting to see if the Phillies use Williams in a utility role, or if they keep him at a single position.
3. Luke Williams impressed while helping Team USA reach the Olympics.
A .352/.439/.465 slash line with four doubles, two triples, and eight RBI spanning 18 games and 82 plate appearances is impressive enough for a prospect in just his sixth professional season (excluding 22 games with the Adelaide Giants in the Australian Baseball League last season).
But Luke Williams carried that momentum even further into recent international baseball action. In the process, Williams helped Team USA clinch one of the final spots for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, which have been rescheduled to this summer.
The 24-year-old helped the United States team go undefeated in the 2021 World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Baseball Americas Qualifier, with victories against Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Canada, and Venezuela.
Across 18 at-bats, Williams slashed .444/.778/.500 with six runs scored, five singles, one double, triple, home run, and a half-dozen RBI, along with tallying 14 total bases. Williams also posted a team-best 1.278 OPS and struck out only twice in the strong tournament showing.
It is important to note that Williams only played left field for the United States, not committing a single error. It’s possible could he stay in the majors and give Andrew McCutchen time off at the position, especially once Didi Gregorius returns from injury (creating less playing time for him at shortstop).
There is a lot to like about Williams, who could potentially make his big-league debut at some point in Tuesday’s game against the Braves. There are still plenty of unknowns about him, but whether he can find and sustain success in the majors will be apparent sooner than later. The Phillies could desperately use another homegrown prospect who does just that.
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