Williamson shines in MLB debut

Brandon Williamson throws a pitch for the Cincinnati Reds in their game Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies. Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Reds.
Brandon Williamson throws a pitch for the Cincinnati Reds in their game Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies. Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Reds.
May 17, 2023

DENVER - Brandon Williamson made his Major League Baseball debut Tuesday night for the Cincinnati Reds.

And what a debut it was for the former NIACC standout, who became the first Trojan baseball player ever to play in the Major Leagues.

Williamson, a 25-year old left-hander, allowed one run on two hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 5 2/3 innings of work in the Reds' 3-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. At one point, Williamson set down 14 straight Colorado hitters.

Williamson tossed 72 pitches in his MLB debut with 47 of them being strikes.

Williamson struck out the Rockies' Mike Moustakas in the second inning for his first career MLB strikeout. The only blemish was a solo home run he allowed to Ezequiel Tovar in the sixth inning.

"My whole job was to commit and execute the pitch. That's all I thought about all night, and just leave it all out there," Williamson said in his post-game press conference.

When Williamson came off the mound and into the dugout, his new teammates were there to greet him.

"It's exciting. The team was thrilled for him," Reds manager David Bell said after Tuesday's victory. "Obviously, Brandon has got a long way to go and he's going to keep getting better."

Before making his debut with the Reds Tuesday night, Williamson made eight starts for the Triple-A Louisville Bats with a record of 2-4 with 27 strikeouts and 20 walks in 34 innings pitched.

Williamson, who pitched at NIACC in 2017-18, was a second-round pick the by the Seattle Mariners in 2019. He was traded to the Reds' organization in March of 2022.

Williamson started the 2022 season with the Reds' Double-A affiliate Chattanooga Lookouts, was called up to the Triple-A Bats in July of 2022. 

Williamson, who attended Martin County West High School in Sherburn, Minn., was a 36th round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2018 MLB Draft, but chose to attend TCU.

At TCU in 2019, Williamson was an honorable mention all-Big 12 selection. He was 4-5 with a 4.10 earned run average in 77 1/3 innings pitched with 89 strikeouts and 36 walks.

While at NIACC, Williamson won 12 games and is the school's career strikeout leader with 151.