The Cincinnati Reds made a big trade this afternoon, sending outfielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suárez to Seattle. In return the Mariners are sending starting pitcher Justin Dunn, outfielder Jake Fraley, prospect Brandon Williamson, and a player to be named later to the Reds.
We don’t know who the player to be named later is yet, but we do know that Brandon Williamson is joining the organization. The left-handed starter was Seattle’s 2nd round draft pick in 2019 out of TCU. If you made the connection there to Nick Lodolo, good job, but it doesn’t just end with being a lefty drafted in 2019 out of TCU. Like Lodolo, Williamson is also 6′ 6″ tall. Baseball America rated both of them as Top 10 left-handed pitchers in baseball, with Lodolo being 5th and Williamson being 7th.
Brandon Williamson Scouting Report
The lefty has a nice arsenal of pitches. His fastball works in the low 90’s and has topped out at 97 MPH. It’s not just good velocity on the pitch, though, he gets good movement on it and hides the ball well. While the fastball is plenty good, it’s his 12-6 curveball that is the best offering he brings to the table. It’s a plus offering in the mid-to-high 70’s with late break to it. He also has a solid change up that he throws.
Williamson has good control and he throws strikes. In 2021 he walked 33 batters in his 98.1 innings pitched between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas while striking out 153 batters and posting a 3.39 ERA.
Where Brandon Williamson ranks
Much like when the Reds acquired Chase Petty over the weekend, I’m not ready just yet to rank Brandon Williamson within the organization. I’d prefer to talk to more people about him and watch some more video to get a better base of information to work with than I currently have. With that said, here’s where he is ranked among the national publications:
- Baseball America: #83 overall, Mariners #5 Prospect
- Fangraphs: #61 overall, Mariners #4 Prospect
- The Athletic: Mariners #6 Prospect
- Baseball Prospectus: Mariners #7 Prospect