Williams has bounced around a lot in his career. A former top prospect on the Giants, he had some success there but it was a bit fleeting as he struggled on the Cubs and Nationals before finding somewhat of a temporary home playing for the Angels. Last year, Williams signed a one year deal with the Astros but was released in the summer, picked up by the Rangers and then picked off waivers by the Phillies. Fortunately for Williams, he ended the year well in Philly and seems to be in a happy place, resigning with them this offseason:
I'm in a deep NL-only fantasy baseball league, so he might be on my radar but Williams was really on my radar heading into the 2003 season. I've played fantasy baseball for a while but that year I started taking it seriously. And by serious I simply mean naively thinking I knew anything and digging for sleepers. Now, please be reminded that I was in high school in a decidedly non-competitive fantasy league. It's that kind of league where a top pitching prospect like Williams (50th best prospect according to Baseball America) who was ready for the major leagues needed any digging to find.
Needless to say, I drafted Jerome Williams and I was happily rewarded. In 21 starts the 21 year old Williams went 7-5 in 131 innings with a 3.30 ERA and 88 strikeouts. Beyond his success to my fantasy team, the important thing was that I dug for a sleeper, found Williams and was rewarded with his success, our success. Williams made me think I was brilliant. I'm sure I bragged about it to my leaguemates, which seems a little silly because 131 innings with a solid ERA and few strikeouts isn't really anything to brag about. But they didn't dig for anyone, they got lucky, I on the other hand just knew.
What I probably didn't brag about was Williams' teammate Kirk Rueter. In 2002 Kirk Rueter threw 203 innings with a 3.23 ERA. I apparently didn't care about Rueter's 76 strikeouts (3.36 K/9!!!) because that ERA is undervalued. And of course, if Rueter had a 3.23 ERA in 2002, 2003 was going to be more of the same. If only I knew about FIP back then I would have seen 4.43 and passed. Instead, I had him on my team and was rewarded with a 4.53 ERA, strangely close to his FIP the previous year. It's funny how that works out.
I'm not sure if there's a point to this story. Well, the actual point is that Jerome Williams, a career journey man, is in a good spot and we hope he succeeds. That's a nice story. The selfish point and reason for my rambling is that one could say that Williams played a crucial role in my fantasy baseball career. While we often can remember the "bad beats" more than our wins, we also have a tendency to pretend that we're all geniuses. It's easy for me to remember my pick of Jerome Williams. Kirk Rueter lives in a different, more embarrassing home in my brain that I don't necessary access on the reg.
Another takeaway could be that I didn't draft Jesse Foppert who was ranked #3 according to BA and had a 5+ ERA. Or Kurt Ainsworth who was another top prospect and had similar success as Foppert.
Another takeaway could be that there is no such thing as a pitching prospect, known to us all as TNSTAAPP.
Another takeaway could be that the 2002 Giants went to the World Series and the following year their rotation included an awesome Jason Schmidt and 3 prospects who were all in Baseball America's top 100 in the rotation. In a different universe Jesse Foppert, Ainsworth and Williams would bring Bonds that elusive World Series. baseball is a strange game
Another takeaway could be that you shouldn't draft pitchers with stirkeout rates of 9%. This eluded me at some point in my life. Thankfully Jerome Williams and I are in a better place. I can't speak for Jesse Foppert.
“This was a no-brainer for me,” Williams explained. “Playing with them for the couple months I was with them, it was a no-brainer. The atmosphere, the guys in the clubhouse, the city, it was a no-brainer to come back.”We can joke about the current state of the Phillies being a nice home for anyone but all jokes aside, good for Williams. I hope he's able to build off his end of 2014 and have a successful year this season.
I'm in a deep NL-only fantasy baseball league, so he might be on my radar but Williams was really on my radar heading into the 2003 season. I've played fantasy baseball for a while but that year I started taking it seriously. And by serious I simply mean naively thinking I knew anything and digging for sleepers. Now, please be reminded that I was in high school in a decidedly non-competitive fantasy league. It's that kind of league where a top pitching prospect like Williams (50th best prospect according to Baseball America) who was ready for the major leagues needed any digging to find.
Needless to say, I drafted Jerome Williams and I was happily rewarded. In 21 starts the 21 year old Williams went 7-5 in 131 innings with a 3.30 ERA and 88 strikeouts. Beyond his success to my fantasy team, the important thing was that I dug for a sleeper, found Williams and was rewarded with his success, our success. Williams made me think I was brilliant. I'm sure I bragged about it to my leaguemates, which seems a little silly because 131 innings with a solid ERA and few strikeouts isn't really anything to brag about. But they didn't dig for anyone, they got lucky, I on the other hand just knew.
What I probably didn't brag about was Williams' teammate Kirk Rueter. In 2002 Kirk Rueter threw 203 innings with a 3.23 ERA. I apparently didn't care about Rueter's 76 strikeouts (3.36 K/9!!!) because that ERA is undervalued. And of course, if Rueter had a 3.23 ERA in 2002, 2003 was going to be more of the same. If only I knew about FIP back then I would have seen 4.43 and passed. Instead, I had him on my team and was rewarded with a 4.53 ERA, strangely close to his FIP the previous year. It's funny how that works out.
I'm not sure if there's a point to this story. Well, the actual point is that Jerome Williams, a career journey man, is in a good spot and we hope he succeeds. That's a nice story. The selfish point and reason for my rambling is that one could say that Williams played a crucial role in my fantasy baseball career. While we often can remember the "bad beats" more than our wins, we also have a tendency to pretend that we're all geniuses. It's easy for me to remember my pick of Jerome Williams. Kirk Rueter lives in a different, more embarrassing home in my brain that I don't necessary access on the reg.
Another takeaway could be that I didn't draft Jesse Foppert who was ranked #3 according to BA and had a 5+ ERA. Or Kurt Ainsworth who was another top prospect and had similar success as Foppert.
Another takeaway could be that there is no such thing as a pitching prospect, known to us all as TNSTAAPP.
Another takeaway could be that the 2002 Giants went to the World Series and the following year their rotation included an awesome Jason Schmidt and 3 prospects who were all in Baseball America's top 100 in the rotation. In a different universe Jesse Foppert, Ainsworth and Williams would bring Bonds that elusive World Series. baseball is a strange game
Another takeaway could be that you shouldn't draft pitchers with stirkeout rates of 9%. This eluded me at some point in my life. Thankfully Jerome Williams and I are in a better place. I can't speak for Jesse Foppert.
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