Joey Williamson

Joseph David Williamson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.

• School University of Notre Dame
• High School Santaluces High School

• Born January 28, 1986 in Atlanta, GA USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Joey Williamson has pitched as high as AAA.

Amateur Career

Williamson was one of two 15-year-olds for Team USA in the 2002 Youth Pan American Games, when the US won the Silver Medal (Cuba won). He beat the Dominican Republic and was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 8 K in 6 2/3 IP for the event. He was third on the US in whiffs behind Matt Bush and Chuck Lofgren and was third among the starters in ERA after Lofgren and Trevor Plouffe. He was 9-1 with a save and a 0.57 ERA as a high school senior, striking out 90 in 68 IP and being named All-State.

He was 1-1 with a 6.66 ERA as a college freshman then had a 6.48 ERA and no decisions as a sophomore in 2006. He made major strides as a junior (5-2, 2 Sv, 2.81, 53 K in 51 1/3 IP); only David Phelps had a lower ERA among Notre Dame's regular hurlers. The Colorado Rockies took him in the 36th round of the 2007 amateur draft, one round after Daniel Renken and one round before Niko Gallego. The scout was Scott Corman.

Rockies Chain

Joey split his first summer as a pro between the Casper Rockies (Sv, 0 R in 2 1/3 IP) and Tri-City Dust Devils (5-0, 5.96 in 17 G, 33 K in 22 2/3 IP). He tied for 7th in the Northwest League in wins. He was 4-0 with a save and a 3.04 ERA for the 2008 Asheville Tourists, whiffing 89 in 83 innings. His 11 hit batsmen were second to Jhoulys Chacin among Rockies farmhands and tied Chris Archer, Colton Willems and Dellin Betances for 8th in the South Atlantic League. He was very good as a swingman in 2009 with the Modesto Nuts (13-3, 3 Sv, 3.36) and Tulsa Drillers (0 R in 6 2/3 IP). He led Rockies farmhands in wins, one ahead of Sam Deduno and Cory Riordan. He also was 4th in the California League, trailing Donald Hume, Craig Clark and Jeremy Hefner.

To that point, Williamson was 22-3 for his career. He then unexpectedly retired and spent 2010 out of baseball, working in the energy sector in Philadelphia, PA. He opted to go back to the ball game in 2011, pitching for the Drillers (3-2, Sv, 2.42 in 19 G, 52 K in 52 IP) and the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (2-3, 7.12 in 9 G, 2.02 WHIP). During 2012, he was excellent for AA Tulsa (3-2, Sv, 1.87 in 36 G; 53 K in 43 1/3 IP) but again awful for AAA Colorado Springs (1-1, 7.62 in 10 G; 2.00 WHIP). He was let go by Colorado prior to the 2013 season.

Independent leagues and Europe

In 2013, the Atlanta native was with the independent Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League, going 3-2 with a 3.98 ERA in 11 starts and striking out 56 in 61 IP. He signed with Unipol Bologna for 2014. He started their opener and shut out the Godo Knights for six innings (3 H, 2 BB, 7 K) before Raul Rivero saved the victory and wrapped up the whitewash.

Sources

• 2013 Rockies Media Guide
• Notre Dame bio
• USA Baseball
• Denver Post
• Purple Row
• Mister-Baseball