Chris Williams - C/1B - Senior - Clemson
A 6'1 225 lb. first baseman, Williams transferred to Clemson from Golden West College (CA) for the 2016 season and immediately became a key cog in the lineup for the Tigers -- seeing time at first base, third base, and behind the dish. A broken wrist caused him to get off to a slow start in 2017, but he still managed to hit .261/.320/.572 with 14 home runs in 203 plate appearances. Through 234 plate appearances in 2018, Williams is hitting .249/.361/.503 with 14 HRs and a 0.74 walk-to-strikeout ratio.
Offensively, Williams makes consistent, loud contact and has legitimate 60 grade raw power that shows in games. He has some natural loft in is swing, which matched with his power could make him a potential 25-30 home run candidate. There is some swing and miss to his game, though he has improved in his 3 seasons at Clemson (0.37 walk-to-strikeout ratio in his first two seasons vs. 0.74 so far in 2018). I think his hit tool is better than his .249 average would suggest, but it is still likely below average (45 range).
As previously mentioned, Williams has seen time at first base, third base and behind the plate in college. Most of his innings have come at first base, and he has become a solid defender at the position, specifically when it comes to picking balls out of the dirt. However, it is his catching potential that makes Williams an intriguing prospect. He started 36 games behind the plate in 2017, throwing out 11 of 22 base stealers and showing fringe-average actions back there. The emergence of sophomore Kyle Wilkie pushed Williams back to first base this season, so it is hard to get a true read on his chances of catching at the next level.
A team that thinks he can become an average defender behind the dish might consider him as a senior sign within the first 10 rounds, and his bat would profile nicely as a catcher. His future becomes much more murky if he is tied to first base, however, as it would put a lot more pressure on his bat to live up to and/or exceed expectations, and will likely see him selected in the middle rounds of the draft.
