The latest C’s Chat is with 2023 Vancouver Canadians first baseman Peyton Williams.
The big man born in Des Moines, Iowa was the big man on campus during his high school career at Johnston High School. Williams was a four-year letter winner in football and basketball, earning two Second-Team All-Conference honours as a tight end in football and a Third-Team All-State Honouree as a senior in basketball. He was even better on the diamond as compiled a .412 career batting average, helping the Dragons win a state title in 2017 and reach the state final in his senior campaign of 2019. As a senior, Williams received Player of the Year Honours from the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association and the Iowa Prep Baseball Report after hitting .473 and slugging 1.000 with 17 doubles, 16 home runs and 57 runs batted in. Perfect Game ranked him as the top-rated player in Iowa.
Williams remained in the Hawkeye State to attend the University of Iowa. He made his mark during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign to earn Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American honours by slashing .298/.388/.509 with two home runs and 16 RBI in 15 games, ending the year with an 11-game hitting streak. A stint in summer college baseball helped Williams remain sharp as he batted .304 with 13 home runs and 36 RBI with a 1.076 OPS for the Waterloo Bucks of the Northwoods League.
In 2021, Williams showed a great batting eye in his sophomore season by leading the Big Ten Conference in walks with 33, giving him an on-base percentage of .470 to help his OPS clear the 1.000 barrier at 1.051 in 36 games.
The 2022 campaign saw Williams become an All-Big Ten First Team selection after slashing .335/.464/.622 with 32 extra-base hits, including 13 homers and 41 runs batted in. The highlight of the year was a 5-for-5 performance in which he hit for the cycle against Bradley on April 12. Williams had two doubles and was hit by a pitch as he reached safely in all six plate appearances. After completing the college season in Iowa City, Williams got a brief taste of summer ball in the Cape Cod League. He played just three games for the Cotuit Kettleers but belted a home run against Chatham Anglers and soon-to-be San Francisco Giants 2022 second-round draft pick Carson Whisenhunt on June 12.
Williams would also hear his name called at the 2022 MLB Draft when the Toronto Blue Jays selected him in the seventh round on the recommendation of scout Wes Penick. After receiving a signing bonus of $197,500, it was off to Dunedin for Williams where he singled in his first professional at-bat and drew a walk at Lakeland on August 6. He walked off Jupiter with an 11th-inning RBI single to cap off a 2-for-4 night with two walks on August 20. His first two professional home runs came on the same night at Bradenton in which he walked and drove in four runs on August 26. Williams was on base four times with three base hits and a base on balls at Tampa on August 30.
After hitting .242 with a .382 on-base percentage in 99 regular season at-bats, Williams had an outstanding postseason to help the Dunedin Blue Jays reach the Florida State League final. He went 3-for-4 and scored a run in Dunedin’s Game 1 semi-final victory over Fort Myers on September 13. A two-run triple and a sacrifice fly came in Game 2 at Fort Myers on September 15. He then went 2-for-3 with a walk in the second and final game of the FSL Final at St. Lucie on September 20 to give him a .353 batting average and .899 OPS in the playoffs.
Baseball America named Williams as the best power hitter in the 2022 Blue Jays draft class, noting that “his 90th percentile exit velocity (105 mph) and peak exit velocity (108 mph) marks were the best of the draft class”. He received a mention in BA’s story about offensive data standouts among 2022 draftees.
“Peyton Williams, 1B, Blue Jays: On the opening day of Cape Cod League play this summer, Williams homered off of Carson Whisenhunt in arguably one of the most heavily scouted games of the summer. Taken by the Blue Jays with the 218th pick in the draft, the large-bodied first baseman (6-foot-5 255 pounds) has country strength in his imposing frame. While Williams is capable of hitting tape-measure home runs, it’s his balance of contact and approach that drives his profile. He walked as much as he struck out during his spring campaign with Iowa and posted a .383 on-base percentage with Low-A Dunedin in his pro debut. While his overall line during his pro debut wasn’t impressive, Williams’ power did show up in his exit velocity data with a 90th percentile exit velocity just a shade below 105 mph. He is a talented hitter with potentially plus game power with a first base-only defensive profile.”
After enjoying a successful stint in Spring Training with two doubles and two walks in a half-dozen games, Williams remained in Dunedin to begin the 2023 season. He enjoyed a 2-for-2 game with a double and two walks against Tampa on April 11 but ran into an 0-for-22 slump before going 2-for-4 and scoring the winning run at Palm Beach on April 20. Williams would kick things into high gear by the end of the month with a 14-game on-base stretch that featured an 11-game hitting streak. His first two home runs came of the year came in a doubleheader against Bradenton on April 30, finishing a triple short of the cycle and drawing a walk for a perfect night at the plate, driving in three runs in Game 1. Williams then added a walk, a hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly to for another three RBI to give him another perfect performance at the dish in Game 2.
The month of May saw Williams continue to heat up as he had a four-hit night at Fort Myers on May 4 and reached base four times again with a 3-for-4 night with a walk and a stolen base against the Might Mussels on May 7. He also got on base another four times by going 3-for-4 with a plunk against Clearwater on May 11. You will never guess what Williams did next on May 17. He reached base another four times, finishing a triple shy of the cycle and getting a base on balls at Tampa. In his final game with Dunedin, Williams homered twice as he flexed his mighty muscles against the Mighty Mussels on May 28.
Those May performances saw Williams get ranked as the 30th-best prospect in the Blue Jays system by Baseball America in June.
“June Update: Williams is a big-bodied slugger who showed off a strong combination of plate skills and power during his time at Iowa as a collegiate. After a tough start to the season, Williams got hot at the end of April and hit .366/.444/.677 from April 28 until May 29 when he was promoted to High-A Vancouver. Williams has average contact and approach with plus raw power, exemplified by his 106.5 mph 90th percentile exit velocity this season. Williams isn’t dissimilar to the Red Sox’s Niko Kavadas as an advanced college slugger who will have to prove he can avoid swing-and-miss as he moves up the ladder. “
It was on May 30 when Williams received a one-way plane ticket to YVR as the Blue Jays promoted him to Vancouver on May 30. In his second game with Monty’s Mounties, Williams socked his first Northwest League home run against Eugene on June 1, providing the game-winning RBI to support his 2020-2021 Iowa Hawkeyes teammate Trenton Wallace on the mound. That turned out to be Wallace’s final start in Vancouver as he was later promoted to Double-A New Hampshire.
A doubleheader in Everett on June 10 saw Williams make an impact with the bat and glove. He belted a three-run home run to put the C’s ahead for good in a Game 1 victory over the Frogs. In Game 2, he knocked down a sharp ground ball to first by Hogan Windish and dove for the base with the ball in his glove to get the out. That was the first out of the top of the seventh which helped Devereaux Harrison and Matt Svanson complete a seven-inning no-hitter. That was the good news. The bad news was Williams suffered a shoulder injury on the play at first and he would miss the better part of June and July.
It was in late July that Williams got back on the diamond with a half-dozen games split between the Florida Complex League. He showed he was back in form on July 29 when he tripled, singled, walked three times and drove in two runs at Tampa in another perfect night in the batter’s box.
August 1 marked the return of Williams to the Canadians lineup and the start of a three-game hitting streak in which he racked up six hits, capping off a three-hit day with a 10th-inning double to drive in the winning run at Hillsboro on August 3. In his return to Nat Bailey Stadium, Williams slugged a three-run home run and singled home another in an eventual 11-inning victory against Tri-City on August 8. He went deep again to open the scoring in another Vancouver triumph on August 9 and drove in the winning run with an RBI single in the eighth inning to down the Dust Devils again on August 10.
C’s Plus Baseball caught up with the 22-year-old Williams during the team’s homestand against Tri-City. This interview has been edited for clarity.
C’s Plus Baseball – You get drafted out of Iowa. What was your draft day experience like?
Peyton Williams – I was just with my family, kind of just watching it, following along. I wasn’t paying too close attention. I knew around where I was supposed to go. And then I was just waiting for a call, hoping. At the time I didn’t really care (who drafted me) but I mean, I talked to the Blue Jays a lot. They seemed like a team that was interested in me. And so, when they took me in the seventh round, I was pleased because they were a team that seemed like they wanted me. I mean, it’s just a good thing. Right after, a lot of hugs, a lot of texts and congratulations. Then it was a couple of days to get ready. And I was down at the complex, ready to start my journey in the minors.
CPB – Your time with Iowa and getting to play for the Hawkeyes, was that a dream come true for you?
PW – Yeah, for me, it was. I was gonna go to Iowa no matter what. If I wasn’t playing baseball, I was gonna be at Iowa. So, I mean, the fact that baseball was just on top of that was just a dream come true for me.
CPB – When you look back on your time with the Hawkeyes, you had a lot of great moments. You hit for the cycle. You saw one recently by (former Vancouver Canadians teammate) Michael Turconi. I’m sure that brought back some memories for you.
PW – Yeah, I mean, especially for a guy like me, nobody would ever expect a guy like me to hit for the cycle. For the most part, a lot of people thought it was funny that I was, of all the guys to hit the cycle, it was me. That was a really cool moment, just because it’s something that I’ll probably never do again so I was really enjoying that at the time.
CPB – When you look back on your time with the Hawkeyes, how would you say you grew from it?
PW – They really developed me athletically. They helped me understand a lot with my swing and maybe understand the game a lot more. I thought I knew a lot about baseball but there are really smart coaches there in Iowa, they really helped me develop and learn and know where to be and what to do in certain situations.
CPB – In your high school career, you played three sports including football and basketball. How did that help you on the diamond?
PW – I think that basketball and football can really help develop some aspects that baseball doesn’t fully go at. Basketball can help with quickness, quick twitch and moving quickly. Football can really help you physically get stronger and bigger. And I think just doing that along with baseball is what really helped me grow as an athlete.
CPB – You go down to Dunedin for your first pro season. What did you learn about professional baseball in your first season?
PW – I learned that even though I only played a month, it’s gonna end up being a long season. You can’t let the highs get too high or the lows get too low. Everything’s gonna play out. Just get close to everyone that you can because I mean, the closer you are with your teammates, the more fun it’s gonna be. So I think that’s what helped me get ready for this season.
CPB – What was your offseason like getting ready for the season now that you kinda got a sneak preview of what to expect for a full season here in 2023?
PW – I was able to go work out at the University of Iowa. The coaches let all the pro guys use the facilities and I was able to talk to other guys to ask about their experiences, see what they did in their first couple of years, ask what they did to train, what they thought was the most important thing to do. So I think that was a big thing that helped me to be ready for spring training in the season to start.
CPB – You also have the Player Development Complex in Dunedin. What was that like getting to work with the state-of-the-art equipment you have over there?
PW – It’s just really nice because I mean, there are no excuses. You got everything you need. It puts the ball in my hands to do whatever I need to do. And it’s nobody else’s fault but mine. I’m the one who has to put myself in the best situation possible.
CPB – Was there anything maybe you learned about yourself as far as maybe your swing mechanics or anything like that at the Complex?
PW – For me, it’s kind of almost when I’m hitting to think about not trying to hit it hard, just kind of think about taking everything easy and just kind of letting adrenaline do all the work for me instead of trying to force it out.
CPB – You went to Spring Training, what was that experience like getting ready for the season?
PW – I thought it was a good time. I mean, it really helped me do the finishing touches of getting ready for the season. I got to go down a little bit early to do some early work down spring training, which I think really helped me even more. Just being able to move every day and kind of be forced to do stuff is good for me.
CPB – You start this season back in Dunedin but you make your way to Vancouver. How did you find out about the promotion?
PW – It was just a Sunday game and afterwards, the manager pulled me into the office and told me I was coming up here. I was pretty excited because a lot of the guys that I played last year with are here. It was nice to be able to come back and play with them but I mean, it’s not really something I’m trying to control. No matter how good or bad I do, it’s not up to me (where I play) so I kinda just try to play the game, and if it happens, it happens.
CPB – And you got to join up very briefly with your former Hawkeyes teammate Trenton Wallace. I’m sure he gave you the scouting about what to expect here in Vancouver.
PW – Yeah, he’s a really good guy for me to talk to because I was able to ask him any question I needed. Even last year after the draft, I was able to ask him anything. I was able to ask him anything about Spring Training and what I need. I only got to play three games with him before he got called up to Double-A, which was good for him, I was really happy for him. But yeah, he’s been a really big help for me.
CPB – You had a doubleheader in Everett. It was kind of the best of times and the worst of times for you. You get a home run in game one. What was that like hitting in Everett where it seems like any fly ball has a chance to go out?
PW – That was probably one of the weirdest fields I’ve played on, just dimensions-wise. It’s just like there are times where you’ll hit a ball to left field that you think you really hit well and then it’s caught and then the ball hit to right field that you think is not hit very well and then somehow it goes out just because of their field. It’s kind of fun playing on a weird field like that every once in a while but it’s better than playing on the same field every day so I’ll take that.
CPB – You try not to let it mess with your approach and just try to stick with what’s been working, especially when you see such inviting dimensions like that in Everett?
PW – Yeah, I just kind of stay with the same approach because for me, the more I try to, or ever think about trying to do damage or thinking about trying to pull it over the wall, nothing good ever happens. So on a field like that, I almost think about trying to stay away from right field and, trying to hit to left field just to force myself to not overswing.
CPB – What is your approach when you step into the batter’s box?
PW – For me, I kind of just tell myself to get on the fastball and take an easy swing at it, take a nice under-control swing. And then just react to anything off-speed.
CPB – Back to game two of that doubleheader, there was a no-hitter going on. When did you realize there was a no-hitter going on? Was there a lot of talk about it in the dugout or was everybody just kind of keeping quiet to themselves?
PW – Everyone was keeping quiet. I really thought about it once we got to about row sixth inning was when I started to think about that a no-hitter could actually happen. But again, nobody in the dugout, nobody wants to be the guy that says something and then we lose it so everyone was keeping to themselves.
CPB – You’re one of the big reasons why the no-hitter remained intact. There was a hard ground ball to first, you knocked it down, and you were able to reach for the bag with your glove. Describe what that play was like for you.
PW – it was a backhand play, kind of like a little sliding play and I knock the ball toward first. And I just didn’t know if I was gonna be able to flip it or not, so I kind of just tried to scoop it up and dive at the same time. I ended up doing it, tagged the base and continue the no-hitter, and let (Matt) Svanson finish it off the rest of the inning.
CPB – Did you know right away that your shoulder injury was going to put you on the sidelines for a while?
PW – I knew I was gonna be out a little bit because, I mean, the shoulder came out. It was probably only out for a couple seconds, but immediately after, I couldn’t lift my arm above shoulder height so I knew it was gonna be a little bit before I’d play again. Just because I’ve had it happen before, back in high school, probably five years ago. It was the same feeling. I just knew it was gonna be some time.
CPB – Your rehab, what was that like going through that? I’m sure it had been killing you not to be out there in the field with the team, especially with the way things are going.
PW – Yeah, rehab was mainly just strengthening, building back strength and mobility on it, trying to do everything that I could to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Even now, before I even touch a ball or a bat, I’m in the training room, I’m heating it up, doing stretches and getting it going before anything else, just to make sure I can prevent it from happening again during my career.
CPB – You come back and things are really starting to take off. A couple of home runs already in this homestand. What’s it been like playing in front of this crowd and being able to hit some out?
PW – Playing in front of this crowd is great. I mean, just always a good amount of fans. They’re always loud, they’re always rowdy. And then hitting a home run and hearing the fans go crazy is always fun.
CPB – I just wanted to ask you the difference between Florida State League and the Northwest League. Have you noticed a huge difference?
PW – A lot more guys might not throw as hard, but the off-speed (pitches) are a lot better, and the command is a lot better. A lot of guys have a little more polish. I’m not saying guys down there in the Florida State League don’t, but a lot of guys up here, they know where they wanna put the ball, they know what they wanna throw. And I think that’s just the biggest difference.
CPB – Having seen you work at first base, that’s obviously something you take pride in. How much work is involved in being able to stay sharp at first base?
PW – Yeah, I mean, we put in work every day, doing a lot of defensive work, doing something different, taking ground balls, having a coach hit me fungos from the position player spot, so I can see a ball coming to first, working on picks. Every day it’s doing something different to make sure I’m staying locked in over there.
CPB – Did you have a favourite major league team or player growing up?
PW – Being from Iowa is kind of a thing where you could choose whatever team you wanted, but I really never had a favourite team or a favourite player growing up. I mean, I always liked watching (Derek) Jeter on the Yankees, but I never really had a team that I cheered for. Honestly, I was kind of a person nobody liked. I was always cheering for the teams that weren’t close to me. Like when the Cubs won the World Series, I was like, ‘Good for them.’ All my friends were Cubs fans who came out of nowhere but I’ve never really had a huge favourite team.
Peyton Williams File
- Born – October 14, 2000 in Des Moines, Iowa.
- Bats/Throws – Left/Left
- Height/Weight – 6-foot-5, 255 pounds
- Uniform Numbers – Wore number 45 with Iowa from 2020-2022. Wore number 37 with Dunedin in 2022 and number 40 with Dunedin in 2023.
- Walkup Music – “Bad News” by Whitey Morgan and the 78’s.
- Twitter – @peyton_w2
- Instagram – @peytonw24
- Fun Fact – Williams is the fourth Iowa Hawkeye to play for the C’s during its Blue Jays affiliation, joining lefthanders Matt Dermody (2013), Nick Allgeyer (2018) and Trenton Wallace (2022-2023).
Thanks a million to Peyton Williams and C’s broadcaster Tyler Zickel for putting this C’s Chat over the fence.
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