Since Jonah Williams has become a major topic of conversation around here, I wanted to share some thoughts regarding his baseball outlook, especially since I just watched him for three full games in our AABC Don Mattingly World Series, which is our big 17U tournament.
- When I saw Williams in the spring when he was in full baseball mode, besides one track event he'd compete in later, after winning District MVP in basketball, it was clear Williams had turned the page and was primarily focused on baseball. It showed with his swing, which was raw but consistent with bat-to-ball ability. He made two great plays in center field and when he was forced to simply react and go, his jumps, routes and plus-plus speed made it easy to project a plus center field defender in time. He ran down the line in 3.51 seconds on a drag bunt, which is a ridiculously fast time and I timed him in a similar situation in 3.75 seconds a couple weeks ago. And then he came in to close the game and touched 91 MPH despite barely warming up and clearly being a guy who has never specialized on pitching.
I left thinking he was the best high school baseball athlete from Texas I've ever seen in person and that if he truly dedicated himself to baseball and made major strides as a hitter, he'd be in the first-round mix a year later. When you list out the scouting tools and then add them to a 6-3, projectable frame with middle-of-the-diamond ability, MLB bloodlines (brother Nick was a big league player) and hitting from the left side, you have first-round caliber future tools, even though it requires a lot of projection and there is a lot of risk in the hitting side. Funny story: an area scout I know was watching him in Atlanta and another club's international scouts were in attendance doing some other work. They saw Jonah and immediately started asking, "who the F is that guy?" That's the type of 'wow' athleticism and flashes he can create on the diamond.
- When I saw Williams in the summer, what I saw was a player who looked like his first love was football. His swing was inconsistent. Mentally, he didn't seem to be fully engaged in baseball mode and you could tell he's been juggling everything that comes with football - he actually missed one of the games for a football event of some sort - while occasionally putting on the baseball uniform despite what looked like limited practice time. It didn't help him that he faced several of the best pitchers in the state, which led to a lack of conviction with the bat as the tournament progressed.
However, he showed his freaky athleticism and unbelievable raw talent when he threw 5.0+ excellent innings and touched 94 MPH against one of the best teams in the event. I'm not sure he even truly warmed up. He long-tossed a bunch, might have thrown a few pitches in a bullpen and went to the mound and unleashed a good fastball along with a changeup he could throw for a strike. It was a reminder that while he struggled offensively, there isn't a more purely talented baseball player in the state. With good, specialized training, I have no doubt he'd throw in the upper 90s eventually.
I was watching his games with a few MLB scouts, and every one of them was convinced his first love is football after watching him. Could that change? Maybe. But here's what has to happen in order for Williams to get drafted in the range he'd probably want to go because I don't believe he's going to the Area Code Games (he tried out for the Texas team but only pitched because he had a minor back issue) and he won't be on a scout team in the fall, which means pro scouts likely won't see him in any game action until the spring, assuming he doesn't enroll early for football:
He has to come out in the spring and really, really, really hit. I'm not talking about hitting .350 off high school pitching. He has to erase any doubt scouts have about his ability to hit in the future and if he would be able to fully focus on baseball only. That's a high bar to clear. And to this point, very few scouts have ever actually seen him play a game in person and he wasn't at the Texas Scouts Association All-Star Game this past Friday. He has to really hit early on so that the area scout can tell the crosschecker to come in, and the crosschecker has to see enough to send it up the ladder in order to get him in a place to be picked where the money would likely be what he needs to forego college. I just don't see that happening. He very clearly loves football, and he should because he's the best safety prospect in the country. Based on what I've seen and heard up to this point in the summer, I'd be surprised if he doesn't go to school and try to play both. At some point, if the pro guys who matter don't see you in the summer and won't see you in the fall, it's tough to become a millionaire draft prospect in the spring.
But if he ever fully focused on baseball only or even just received a lot of really good training and was able to dedicate a ton of time to it, his potential is immense. It's just really hard to do that when you're a phenomenal football player, too.
- When I saw Williams in the spring when he was in full baseball mode, besides one track event he'd compete in later, after winning District MVP in basketball, it was clear Williams had turned the page and was primarily focused on baseball. It showed with his swing, which was raw but consistent with bat-to-ball ability. He made two great plays in center field and when he was forced to simply react and go, his jumps, routes and plus-plus speed made it easy to project a plus center field defender in time. He ran down the line in 3.51 seconds on a drag bunt, which is a ridiculously fast time and I timed him in a similar situation in 3.75 seconds a couple weeks ago. And then he came in to close the game and touched 91 MPH despite barely warming up and clearly being a guy who has never specialized on pitching.
I left thinking he was the best high school baseball athlete from Texas I've ever seen in person and that if he truly dedicated himself to baseball and made major strides as a hitter, he'd be in the first-round mix a year later. When you list out the scouting tools and then add them to a 6-3, projectable frame with middle-of-the-diamond ability, MLB bloodlines (brother Nick was a big league player) and hitting from the left side, you have first-round caliber future tools, even though it requires a lot of projection and there is a lot of risk in the hitting side. Funny story: an area scout I know was watching him in Atlanta and another club's international scouts were in attendance doing some other work. They saw Jonah and immediately started asking, "who the F is that guy?" That's the type of 'wow' athleticism and flashes he can create on the diamond.
- When I saw Williams in the summer, what I saw was a player who looked like his first love was football. His swing was inconsistent. Mentally, he didn't seem to be fully engaged in baseball mode and you could tell he's been juggling everything that comes with football - he actually missed one of the games for a football event of some sort - while occasionally putting on the baseball uniform despite what looked like limited practice time. It didn't help him that he faced several of the best pitchers in the state, which led to a lack of conviction with the bat as the tournament progressed.
However, he showed his freaky athleticism and unbelievable raw talent when he threw 5.0+ excellent innings and touched 94 MPH against one of the best teams in the event. I'm not sure he even truly warmed up. He long-tossed a bunch, might have thrown a few pitches in a bullpen and went to the mound and unleashed a good fastball along with a changeup he could throw for a strike. It was a reminder that while he struggled offensively, there isn't a more purely talented baseball player in the state. With good, specialized training, I have no doubt he'd throw in the upper 90s eventually.
I was watching his games with a few MLB scouts, and every one of them was convinced his first love is football after watching him. Could that change? Maybe. But here's what has to happen in order for Williams to get drafted in the range he'd probably want to go because I don't believe he's going to the Area Code Games (he tried out for the Texas team but only pitched because he had a minor back issue) and he won't be on a scout team in the fall, which means pro scouts likely won't see him in any game action until the spring, assuming he doesn't enroll early for football:
He has to come out in the spring and really, really, really hit. I'm not talking about hitting .350 off high school pitching. He has to erase any doubt scouts have about his ability to hit in the future and if he would be able to fully focus on baseball only. That's a high bar to clear. And to this point, very few scouts have ever actually seen him play a game in person and he wasn't at the Texas Scouts Association All-Star Game this past Friday. He has to really hit early on so that the area scout can tell the crosschecker to come in, and the crosschecker has to see enough to send it up the ladder in order to get him in a place to be picked where the money would likely be what he needs to forego college. I just don't see that happening. He very clearly loves football, and he should because he's the best safety prospect in the country. Based on what I've seen and heard up to this point in the summer, I'd be surprised if he doesn't go to school and try to play both. At some point, if the pro guys who matter don't see you in the summer and won't see you in the fall, it's tough to become a millionaire draft prospect in the spring.
But if he ever fully focused on baseball only or even just received a lot of really good training and was able to dedicate a ton of time to it, his potential is immense. It's just really hard to do that when you're a phenomenal football player, too.
