Nick Williams

Note: This page is for 2010s outfielder Nick Williams; for others with the same name, click here.

Billy Nicholas Williams

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 195 lb.
• High School Ball High School
• Debut June 30, 2017
• Final Game April 13, 2021
• Born September 8, 1993 in Galveston, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Nick Williams began his professional career in 2012.

He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 2nd round of the 2012 amateur draft. He played for the AZL Rangers that year, hitting .313/.375/.448 with 15 stolen bases in 48 games. With the Hickory Crawdads in 2013, he hit .293/.337/.543 with 17 home runs, 60 RBI and 12 triples in 95 games. Prior to the start of the 2014 campaign, Baseball Prospectus named him the 88th-best prospect in baseball and Baseball America ranked him #97. BA ranked him the 4th-best player in the Rangers system. That year, he hit .283/.331/.462 with 13 home runs, 74 RBI and 30 doubles in 112 games between the AZL Rangers, Myrtle Beach Pelicans and Frisco RoughRiders. Before the start of the 2015 campaign, Baseball Prospectus named him the 71st-best prospect in baseball and BA ranked him #5 in the Rangers chain.

He was a MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2013 and 2014, a Post-Season All-Star in 2013 and 2014, a Mid-Season All-Star in 2014 and a AFL Rising Star in 2014. He was named to the United States team for the 2015 Futures Game. He was hitting .300 with 21 doubles, 13 homers and 45 RBIs in 96 games for Frisco when on July 29, 2015, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies alongside P Matt Harrison and fellow prospects Alec Asher, Jorge Alfaro, Jerad Eickhoff and Jake Thompson in return for Ps Jake Diekman and Cole Hamels.

Nick made his debut with the Phillies on June 30, 2017 going 1 for 3 as the leftfielder in a 2-1 loss to the New York Mets. On July 16th, he connected for a grand slam off fellow rookie Tyler Webb of the Milwaukee Brewers to give the Phillies a 5-2 win. The blow, against a left-hander who had just come into the game to face him, was his second career long ball; the first had come on July 9th against Trevor Cahill of the San Diego Padres in a 7-1 win. He played 83 games for the Phils that season, hitting .288 with 12 homers and 55 RBIs in a promising debut. However, he was the odd mad out at the start of the 2018 season when the Phillies shuffled their line-up in order to accommodate free agent signee Carlos Santana at first base; the previous year's other rookie sensation, Rhys Hoskins moved over to left field, and Nick was left without a position. After playing only sparingly in the team's first six games, he vented his frustration at "computers" that were dictating line-up choices for new manager Gabe Kapler and had him spending more time than he would like on the bench. He made a case for more playing time on April 9th when he hit a walk-off pinch homer off Kevin Quackenbush of the Cincinnati Reds to give the Phillies a 6-5 win. He had another key homer as a pinch-hitter on May 26th, when his blast leading off the bottom of the 8th against Joe Biagini of the Toronto Blue Jays broke a 1-1 tie and gave Philadelphi a 2-1 victory.

Related Sites

• Nick Williams on mlb.com
• BR Minors page