Ben Williamson (baseball)

Ben Williamson
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 15
Third baseman
Born: (2000-11-05) November 5, 2000 (age 25)
Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 15, 2025, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
(through 2025 season)
Batting average.253
Home runs1
Runs batted in21
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Benjamin Andrew Williamson (born November 5, 2000) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2025 with the Seattle Mariners.

Amateur career

Williamson attended Freedom High School in South Riding, Virginia. He won several awards in his senior season in 2019, including the conference and regional player of the year.[1]

Williamson enrolled at the College of William & Mary and played college baseball for the William & Mary Tribe. He was named to the First Team All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) three consecutive years, from 2021 to 2023, the first player in school history with such a streak.[2] He also won the CAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 after having a .975 fielding percentage.[3] In the 2023 season, Williamson had a .391 batting average, .513 on base percentage, 12 home runs, and 49 runs batted in (RBIs), while also stealing 14 bases.[4] For his performance on the year, he was named CAA Player of the Year.[5] He played nine games of collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League prior to the 2023 MLB draft.[6]

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners selected Williamson in the second round, with the 57th overall selection of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.[7][8] On July 14, 2023, Williamson signed with the Mariners for an under-slot deal worth $600,000.[9] That year, he played in two games for the Arizona Complex League Mariners, then 10 games for the Single-A Modesto Nuts. He started 2024 with the High-A Everett AquaSox, where he hit .315 in 29 games. In May, he was promoted to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, where he hit .273 with three home runs in 95 games.[10][11] He had some difficulty adjusting to pitching in Double-A but remained a good defender.[12]

Williamson began the 2025 season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, batting .281 with three doubles in 14 games.[12][13] On April 13, 2025, the Mariners promoted Williamson to the major leagues for the first time.[14] Two days later, he hit a single in his first major league plate appearance.[15] Williamson was Seattle's starting third baseman until they re-acquired Eugenio Suárez on July 30. Williamson was sent down to Tacoma, where he finished the regular season. At the time of his demotion, he led American League (AL) third baseman in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) but was near the bottom in on-base plus slugging.[16] He finished his first MLB season batting .253/.294/.310.[17] He ranked sixth among MLB third baseman in DRS despite playing in the minors for several months.[18]

Williamson was added to the Mariners roster for the AL Division Series, possibly to fill in for Josh Naylor while he attended the birth of his first child, but did not play in the postseason. He was removed from the roster for the AL Championship Series.[19]

Tampa Bay Rays

On February 2, 2026, the Mariners traded Williamson to the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team trade in which the Mariners received Brendan Donovan and the St. Louis Cardinals received Jurrangelo Cijntje, Tai Peete, Colton Ledbetter, and two Competitive Balance Round B picks in the 2026 MLB draft.[20]

Personal life

Williamson grew up in Chantilly, Virginia.[12] His mother was a college gymnast at James Madison University.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ben Williamson - 2023 - Baseball". William & Mary Athletics. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  2. ^ Preusser, Kate (July 9, 2023). "Mariners select 3B Ben Williamson with 57th pick in 2023 MLB Draft". Lookout Landing. SB Nation. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Region/state roundup: W&M infielder Ben Williamson named CAA Defensive Player of the Year". The Virginian Pilot. May 25, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  4. ^ Condotta, Bob (July 9, 2023). "What you need to know about Mariners' No. 57 pick, William & Mary third baseman Ben Williamson". Seattle Times. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "Williamson Named Player of the Year, Four Others Honored". William & Mary Tribe. May 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "Ben Williamson". Pointstreak. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  7. ^ "Mariners draft 3B Williamson No. 57". MLB.com (video). July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  8. ^ Frankeberry, Jami (July 10, 2023). "William & Mary's Ben Williamson, selected in the second round, is Tribe's highest MLB pick in nearly 20 years". The Virginian Pilot. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  9. ^ "Mariners sign 21 of 22 Draft picks, including Farmelo". MLB.com. July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  10. ^ Til, Cameron Van (June 4, 2024). "Mariners' Ben Williamson Plays To His Strengths". Baseball America. Retrieved April 17, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ^ "Ben Williamson College, Amateur & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Lantz, Shane (April 14, 2025). "What the Mariners can expect from newly promoted third base prospect". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  13. ^ "Ben Williamson 2025 College, Amateur & Minor Leagues Game Logs & Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  14. ^ Polishuk, Mark (April 13, 2025). "Mariners Select Ben Williamson". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  15. ^ Til, Cameron Van (April 15, 2025). "Seattle Mariners rookie Ben Williamson gets first career hit". Seattle Sports. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  16. ^ Hereth, Zac (July 31, 2025). "Seattle Mariners Moves: Suárez reports, Williamson to minors". Seattle Sports. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  17. ^ "Ben Williamson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  18. ^ "DRS Leaderboards". Fielding Bible. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  19. ^ Polishuk, Mark (October 12, 2025). "Mariners Add Bryan Woo, Miles Mastrobuoni To ALCS Roster". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  20. ^ Kramer, Daniel (February 3, 2026). "Brendan Donovan traded to Mariners from Cardinals". MLB.com. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Williamson_(baseball)