2020 MLB Draft Profile: SS Alika Williams is worth 2nd round consideration

The Detroit Tigers don’t have much recent history drafting out of Arizona State University, but they’ve been connected to ASU’s shortstop Alika Williams in the second round.

The Arizona State Sun Devils were absolutely stacked with 2020 draft talent. Between Spencer Torkelson, Gage Workman, and Alika Williams, three of their starting infielders could be taken within the firs two rounds. Recently, Jay Markle discussed the rumors that the Tigers, among others, were interested in grabbing a number of shortstops late in the first round, Compensatory Round A and early second round. We wrote about Workman already, but it was Williams who was connected to the Tigers in these rumors.

The 6’2,180 right-handed hitting shortstop was originally drafted in 32nd round by the New York Yankees in 2017. His college career numbers are .300/.383/.400 with 55 walks and 49 strikeouts. He was a shortstop in college but did see some time at second base in the Cape Cod League the last two summers. His 2019 Cape Cod season was cut short as he was selected to be a part of the Team USA’s Collegiate National Team. Let’s take a look at what skills he brings to the table.

Strengths

Akila Williams is considered a glove-first shortstop, committing just 21 errors in 127 games he started in his three years at ASU. Scouts have spoken about a good first step to first, soft hands and footwork with a quick release. While his arm is average, it is more than capable of being one that could handle shortstop at the big league level as he grades out at a 60 on the MLB scouting scale.

He also showed a good eye at the plate.  He was the only player on the Sun Devils roster who walked more than he struck out, leading the team in walks in 2019 with 28 and only had 49 strikeouts in 549 college plate appearances – a stat that Tigers fans could definitely appreciate. In fact, a number of the middle infielders in this class have above average walk rates thanks to a mature approach and a good eye, which bodes well for Detroit.

Williams’s patience at the plate coupled with his above-average speed (clocked at 4.26 and 4.19 sec. down the line) helps his draft profile to be a top of the order type. He shows good balance at the plate with a good swing through the zone. He makes good contact and can spray the ball to all fields, making him a good gap to gap hitter. The player he has sometimes been compared to is Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals. While he doesn’t have quite the elite speed Turner can boast, the rest of the profile is similar.

Weaknesses

Williams’ biggest weakness is a lack of power at the plate. At ASU, he hit just five home runs. Run his career numbers through the ISO* formula, designed to calculate a player’s power output, and you’re looking at a figure near the .100 mark. Frankly, that’s pretty weak.

Baseball America observed “he was pulling too many balls in the air,” which could be indicative of two different possibilities. Williams could be deliberately working to increase his launch angle in an effort to increase his ability to hit for power. In junction with added strength to his still projectable frame, he could make good on that effort. As Ted Williams once said in his book “The Science of Hitting”.

“If you get the ball into the air with power, you have the gift to produce the most important hit in baseball — the home run.”

The other possibility is he does not have enough power to rely on a steady diet of fly balls. That seems to be the opinion expressed in the Baseball America report, stating that his strength is “making outstanding contact going gap to gap.” However, if he can improve on barreling up the ball more, that may assist the efforts of getting the ball over the fence.

Williams also doesn’t make the best use of his speed on the basepaths. In his career with the Sun Devils, he’s stolen only 15 bags. That figure doesn’t look too great when stacked up next to the 10 times he was caught stealing. Swiping second base doesn’t figure into game-winning strategy as much as id did in previous eras of the sport, but pro teams can’t afford to throw away baserunners like that. His efficiency will need to improve with instruction.

*ISO = (2B + 2*3B + 3*HR)/AB

Draft Projection

It’s not out of the question that he may end up with the Yankees after all; they have the 29th pick in this year’s draft and that’s near the high end of the range where he’s predicted to be in play. Prospects Live has him going to the Chicago White Sox with the 47th pick. Chris Brown, my podcast partner at Tigers Minor League Report, had Williams being drafted 35th overall to Cleveland.

This year’s draft class is deep with infield talent but it’s unlikely Williams will slide past the second round.If the Tigers decide not to draft a pitcher, Williams could be an option if he is still on the board. The Tigers’ history of glove-first shortstops is well documented, but in this case, Williams may represent a bit more upside than players they’ve collected in the past.

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