Will Harris (baseball)

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For the baseball outfielder, see Willie Harris. For other sportsmen of this name, see William Harris (disambiguation).

Will Harris
Will Harris Houston Astros April 2015.jpg
Harris with the Houston Astros in 2015
Washington Nationals – No. 36
Pitcher
Born: (1984-08-28) August 28, 1984 (age 37)
Houston, Texas
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 13, 2012, for the Colorado Rockies
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Win–loss record23-20
Earned run average2.94
Strikeouts452
Teams
Career highlights and awards

William Taylor Harris (born August 28, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros. He was drafted by the Rockies in the ninth round of the 2006 MLB draft, and made his major league debut in 2012. He played college baseball for Louisiana State University.

Early life[]

Harris played baseball at Slidell High School in Slidell, Louisiana. He attended Louisiana State University (LSU) and played collegiate baseball for LSU Tigers.[1] In 2004, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.[2][3]

Professional career[]

Colorado Rockies[]

The Colorado Rockies selected Harris in the ninth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. Harris made his professional debut with the Low-A Tri-City Dust Devils. In 2007, Harris played for the Single-A Asheville Tourists, recording a stellar 1.32 ERA in 38 appearances. The next year he played for the High-A Modesto Nuts, posting a 2.77 ERA in 49 games for the team. He only appeared in 1 game in 2009, for Tri-City, and did not play at all in 2010. In 2011, Harris returned to Modesto, registering a3-2 record and 5.55 ERA in 33 appearances. To begin the 2012 season, Harris split the year between the Double-A Tulsa Drillers and the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox, posting a 1.02 ERA in Colorado Springs and a 2.62 ERA in Tulsa.[4]

Harris was promoted to the majors for the first time on August 11, 2012.[5] He made his major league debut the next day, allowing 3 earned runs in 1.0 inning of work against the Milwaukee Brewers. He finished his rookie season with an unsightly 8.15 ERA across 20 appearances. On March 29, 2013, Harris was designated for assignment by the Rockies.[6]

Arizona Diamondbacks[]

On April 3, 2013, Harris was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics.[7] The Arizona Diamondbacks claimed Harris off waivers from the Oakland Athletics three days later.[8] In 61 appearances for Arizona in 2013, Harris recorded a 2.91 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 52.2 innings of work. The next year, Harris split the year between the Triple-A Reno Aces and Arizona, posting a superb 0.99 ERA in Reno, but a less sightly 4.34 ERA in 29 appearances for the big league club.

Houston Astros[]

On November 3, 2014, Harris was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros.[9] Harris appeared in 68 games in 2015 for the Astros, pitching to a 5-5 record and 1.90 ERA with 68 strikeouts. Harris was invited to his first All-Star Game in 2016 with the Houston Astros.[10] He finished the season with an ERA of 2.25 in 66 appearances and 12 saves.

The following season, he was limited to 46 games during the regular season due to injury, posting a 2.98 ERA. He appeared in six games in the 2017 postseason. In a combined total of four innings, he allowed six hits and one run. The Astros won the 2017 World Series, the first ever World Series victory for the Franchise.[11] The win earned Harris his first World Series championship as well.

In 2018, Harris pitched in 61 games, going 5–3 with an ERA of 3.49.[citation needed] On August 3, 2019, Harris worked in relief, in a no-hit shutout of the Seattle Mariners. The final score was 9–0.[12] Harris pitched an immaculate inning in relief in the eighth inning versus the Los Angeles Angels on September 27, 2019.[13] In 2019, he was 4–1 with four saves and a 1.50 ERA, as in 68 relief appearances he pitched 60 innings and struck out 62 batters.[14]

Washington Nationals[]

On January 3, 2020, the Washington Nationals announced they had signed Harris to a three-year guaranteed contract reportedly worth $24 million.[15] Harris could not replicate his 2019 success with Houston in 2020, but still had a solid season with Washington, registering a 3.06 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 172⁄3 innings of work.[16]

On May 30, 2021, it was announced that Harris would undergo surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, likely ending his 2021 season.[17] He was placed on the 60-day injured list on June 12.[18] In eight games for the Nationals, Harris struggled to a 9.00 ERA.

Scouting report[]

Harris throws three pitches — a four-seam fastball in the mid 90s, a cutter in the low 90's, and a curveball in the upper 70s.[19]

Personal life[]

Harris has one older brother, Clay, and one younger brother, Dylan. Clay was an infielder at LSU from 2002 through 2005,[20] and played in the Philadelphia Phillies' minor league system.

References[]

  1. ^ "Smith: Will Harris too valuable to be underrated for Astros, A.J. Hinch". October 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "2004 Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  4. ^ "Will Harris Minor Leagues Statistics & History".
  5. ^ "Rockies select contract of RHP Will Harris to Major League Roster". MLB.com. August 11, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  6. ^ "Will Harris Stats, Fantasy & News".
  7. ^ "A's Claim RHP Will Harris off Waivers from Colorado". MLB.com. April 3, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  8. ^ "A's Reinstate Colón from Suspended List; Option Straily to Sacramento". MLB.com. April 6, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  9. ^ "Astros claim pitcher Harris from Arizona". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 3, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  10. ^ Ryan Dunsmore (July 5, 2016). "Astros closer Will Harris selected to the 2016 All-Star Game". crawfishboxes.com. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  11. ^ McTaggart, Brian; Gurnick, Ken. "Houston Astros win 2017 World Series". MLB. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  12. ^ "Astros pitchers toss combined no-hitter against Mariners". chron.com. August 3, 2019.
  13. ^ MLB (September 27, 2019). "MLB on Twitter: "9 pitches. 3 Ks. Will Harris is IMMACULATE..."". Twitter.com. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  14. ^ "Will Harris Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  15. ^ "Ex-Astros pitcher Harris joins Series nemesis Nats". January 3, 2020.
  16. ^ "Washington Nationals: Predicting the future of Will Harris". September 12, 2020.
  17. ^ "Will Harris to Undergo Thoracic Outlet Surgery".
  18. ^ "Nationals Make Series of Roster Moves".
  19. ^ "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool – Player Card: Will Harris". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  20. ^ "Will Harris Bio". LSUSports.net.

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by No-hit game
August 3, 2019
(with Sanchez, Biagini & Devenski) 		Succeeded by
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