Sam McWilliams

Samuel Rutherford McWilliams (born September 4, 1995) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He spent time on the 40-man roster of the New York Mets and San Diego Padres, and was a Rule 5 pick by the Kansas City Royals, but never played in the major leagues.

Sam McWilliams
McWilliams with the GCL Phillies in 2014
Pitcher
Born: (1995-09-04) September 4, 1995
Orlando, Florida
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Career

Amateur career

McWilliams attended Beech High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where he pitched for the school's baseball team.[1] In 2014, his senior year, he was named to the All-State team by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.[2] He had committed to play college baseball for Tennessee Tech.[3]

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies selected McWilliams in the eighth round of the 2014 MLB draft.[4] He made his professional debut with the rookie ball GCL Phillies, pitching to a 5.40 ERA in 9 games. McWilliams made 7 appearances for the GCL Phillies in 2015, registering a 3.27 ERA in 33.0 innings of work.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 14, 2015, the Phillies traded McWilliams to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Jeremy Hellickson.[5][6] He spent the 2016 season with the Kane County Cougars of the Class A Midwest League, and posted a 3–6 record and 3.98 ERA in 15 games. He returned to Kane County for the 2017 season, pitching to an 11–6 record and 2.84 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 133.0 innings pitched.[7][8] He began the 2018 season with the Visalia Rawhide of the Class A-Advanced California League.[9]

Tampa Bay Rays

On May 1, 2018, the Tampa Bay Rays acquired McWilliams and Colin Poche from the Diamondbacks as the players to be named later from the February trade in which the Diamondbacks acquired Steven Souza Jr. from the Rays.[9] He finished the year split between the High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs and the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, pitching to a 6–8 record with 101 strikeouts. The Kansas City Royals selected McWilliams in the 2018 Rule 5 draft.[10] After pitching to a 15.43 ERA in 4+2⁄3 innings in spring training, the Royals returned McWilliams to the Rays on March 24, 2019.[11] McWilliams split the 2019 season between Montgomery and the Triple-A Durham Bulls, posting a 7–9 record and 4.10 ERA in 26 games between the two teams. McWilliams did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] On November 2, 2020, he elected free agency.

New York Mets

Due to changes McWilliams made to his mechanics and repertoire at Tampa Bay's alternate site during the 2020 season, roughly half the teams in Major League Baseball had inquired about signing him after he became a free agent.[3] Ultimately, on November 20, 2020, McWilliams signed a one-year major league contract with the New York Mets for $750,000, far more than the Major League minimum despite never having pitched in a major league game.[13] On May 31, 2021, McWilliams was designated for assignment by New York after struggling to a 10.80 ERA in 7 appearances for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets. McWilliams had not appeared in the majors for the Mets at the time of his designation.[14]

San Diego Padres

On June 5, 2021, McWilliams was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres.[15] On June 19, McWilliams was outrighted off of the 40-man roster without making a major league appearance.[16] He split time between the Double-A San Antonio Missions and Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas to finish out the year. With El Paso, he struggled to a 10.07 ERA in 18 appearances, and with San Antonio, he registered a 4.91 ERA in 11 games. McWilliams elected free agency on October 6.[17]

Cincinnati Reds

On March 19, 2022, McWilliams signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds.[18] McWilliams appeared in 9 games split between the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Reds and Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, logging a cumulative 0–5 record and 10.13 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched. He was released on June 18.

In August 2022, McWilliams ended his playing career and became a sales representative with Blast Athletics.[19]

See also

References
  1. "Stoic Beech standout made many hitters miss". The Tennessean. July 7, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  2. "Johnson, McWilliams named all-state". The Tennessean. July 20, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  3. Verducci, Tom (December 8, 2020). "MLB Teams Chased After a Lifetime Minor Leaguer. The Mets ... Won?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. Harrischarris, Craig (June 6, 2014). "D'Backs, Phillies draft local pitchers". Tennessean. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  5. "D-backs pick up McWilliams from Phillies". MiLB.com. November 14, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  6. Johnson, Paul (July 3, 2016). "Pitcher Sam McWilliams makes smooth transition to Cougars' rotation". Elgin Courier-News. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  7. Johnson, Paul (April 26, 2017). "Improved form has Sam McWilliams of Kane County off to hot start". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  8. "Smoother sailing for Kane County Cougars' Sam McWilliams this season". KC Chronicle. August 11, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  9. "Rays acquire Colin Poche, Sam McWilliams". MLB.com. May 1, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  10. "The Rule 5 Draft was kind to Royals last year. They took two more pitchers this year". The Kansas City Star. December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  11. "Rule 5 pick Sam McWilliams returned to Rays". Tampa Bay Times. March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  12. Jeff Todd (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  13. Verducci, Tom (December 8, 2020). "Mets pitcher Sam McWilliams has never pitched in MLB - Sports Illustrated". Si.com. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  14. "Mets reliever Sam McWilliams designated for assignment after struggling in Triple-A". Newsday. May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  15. Mark Polishuk (January 20, 2021). "Padres Claim Sam McWilliams Off Waivers From Mets". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  16. "Padres Place Pierce Johnson on 10-Day Injured List, Outright Sam McWilliams, Select Daniel Camarena".
  17. "Sam McWilliams Stats, Fantasy & News | MLB.com". MLB.com.
  18. Darragh McDonald (March 19, 2022). "Reds To Sign Sam McWilliams To Minor League Deal". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  19. "Sam McWilliams - Sales Representative - Blast Athletics". linkedin.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
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