Big Promotion: Ryan Williams Skips a Level, Starts for Tennessee

The Tennessee Smokies, in conjunction with the South Bend Cubs, announced today that Ryan Williams was promoted this morning. Williams was at low-A South Bend and will skip high-A Myrtle Beach completely to start this afternoon against first place Chattanooga. The Smokies are only one game behind the Lookouts in the Southern League North Division.

For Williams, who we profiled last month, has been dominant in his two months at South Bend. The big right hander is 4-1 in 8 starts with a 1.17 ERA in 53.2 innings. He has struck out 37 and walked only 2 all year. The key for Williams has been controlling the zone and getting ground balls.

In the first inning, things seemed to be going well.

E1: Ryan Williams sits down Chattanooga in order to start his Double-A debut. Smokies 0, Lookouts 0. #TNSvsCHA

— Smokies on Radio (@SmokiesOnRadio) June 3, 2015

In addition to his standout performance, another reason Williams skipped a level is his age. At 23, he was older than most players in the Midwest League.

At Tennessee, Williams is taking Corey Black’s spot in the rotation. Black was recently moved to the bullpen to accelerate his path to the majors as a reliever.

The South Bend Cubs Radio Man, Darin Pritchett, has some confidence in Williams:

@SmokiesOnRadio when that two seamer is dipping there will be 20 divots in front of plate due to ground balls.

— SouthBend Cubs Radio (@SBCubsRadio) June 3, 2015