Carson Williams adjusting his approach

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MARCH 29: Carson Williams #7 of the Tampa Bay Rays fields the ball against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on March 29, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Carson Williams had a fairly underwhelming stint in the majors this year after being thrust into the starting SS role. The game appeared to speed up on him; he expanded the zone more than ever and committed several uncharacteristic defensive miscues. While the defense will almost certainly rebound to comfortably plus territory across a larger sample, his hit tool remained a real concern despite offseason efforts to be more direct to the ball.

Since his demotion to Triple-A, Williams has begun adjusting his approach to better manage his below-average contact ability. He’s using the whole field more effectively while still picking spots to do damage. The results haven’t shown up for Williams yet this year, but adjustments he’s making will help him find success in a larger sample both in Triple-A and the majors.

Swing Decisions

Improving his swing decisions is the first step for Williams to get back to the majors. His zone-minus-out-of-zone swing rates pulled from Savant (a higher number reflects better swing decisions) depict an encouraging trend:

• 2025 AAA: 37.1%
• 2025 ML: 39.3%
• 2026 ML: 32.6%
• 2026 AAA: 40.5%

Carson’s swing decisions suggested he was overmatched in his small major-league sample this season, but he has since settled in nicely in AAA. Pitch recognition has long been a developmental focus for Williams given his relatively limited experience against breaking balls compared to his peers, so it’s good to see his improvements in his swing decisions continue. His chase rate against breaking balls has gone from 33.7% in 2025 across both levels to 23.9% in 2026.

His next steps are to reduce his swing and miss to a more palatable rate. While the whiff will likely always be part of his game, Williams is starting to improve his contact ability by adjusting his approach.