First start
Williamson pitches three shutout innings in Dayton
Brandon Williamson made his first rehab appearance Tuesday for the Dayton Dragons, the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He went three shutout innings vs. the Great Lakes Loons, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Martin County West graduate had been shut down by the Reds in spring training with a shoulder strain.
On Tuesday he allowed one hit, did not walk a batter and struck out four. The left-hander was on a 50-pitch limit and threw 38 pitches, 28 for strikes. Williamson threw fastballs, cutters, curveballs and changeups.
He retired all six batters in the first two innings including four strikeouts. In his final inning, he allowed a one-out double but pitched out of a jam, getting a tremendous defensive play by second baseman Sal Stewart to end the inning.
Williamson averaged 92 mph on his four-seam fastball in 23 starts for the Reds last season. While getting ready to return to live action, he said his fastball was sitting at 93-95 in Arizona.
The radar gun wasn’t working at Day Air Ballpark in Dayton on Tuesday, but Williamson said his velocity felt normal.
“It’s good to get back on game reps, feel it out a little bit — feeling good,” Williamson told Jeff Gilbert of the Dayton Daily News.
“The first two innings were pretty solid,” Williamson said. “Third, I don’t know if it was first time going out that many times and tired or what – just got a little sloppy. But they made some great plays behind me.”
Williamson said Yunior Garcia hit a good pitch for a double with one out in the third inning. After getting a fly ball for the second out, second baseman Sal Stewart saved a run with a diving stop on a ground ball and throw to first to get leadoff hitter Thayron Liranzo.
“That was sweet because I was getting a little tired, so I was ready to go in,” Williamson said. “That was a really good play, and he looked beyond his years when he made it.”
Williamson is expected to start for Triple-A Louisville on Sunday in Columbus vs. the Clippers (Cleveland Guardians affiliate) and next week in Louisville vs. the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers). Pitchers can utilize up to 30 days on a rehab assignment before a decision must be made by a club.
“Honestly, I’m not too worried about what happens after that,” Williamson said. “I just want to be healthy, I want to keep pitching at a high caliber and whatever happens, happens.”
The Reds starting rotation is healthy and pitching well. As of now there isn’t a spot for Williamson to return to the Reds. He will likely stay in Louisville unless a spot opens.
“I understand how the business works,” he said. “All I can do is pitch as good as I can, be as healthy as I can. I feel pretty free minded that whatever happens I’m OK with it. It’s out of my control.”
Williamson was 5-5 with the Reds with a 4.46 ERA in 2023 and overcame a slow start to his first season in the majors.
“When I first came up I honestly probably wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be to stay,” he said. “But luckily I got enough innings to have time to mold into a better pitcher. By the middle and end of the year, I felt pretty solid where I was.”
And Williamson doesn’t feel the setback this spring has hurt his development.
“I feel better actually now than I did last year,” he said. “I think I can execute pitches at a higher clip. That’s all it is. Can you execute your pitch?”