Williams enjoys homecoming against Baby Cakes

Church on the right track
August 29, 2018
LHSAA needs to change its culture
August 29, 2018
Church on the right track
August 29, 2018
LHSAA needs to change its culture
August 29, 2018

Houma native Justin Williams played in Louisiana again this week — his first series in his home state since turning pro after high school graduation. 


He didn’t disappoint.

The large crowd of family, friends, former teammates and local baseball fans who turned out got to see first-hand why the former Terrebonne High School graduate is among the top prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm system.

Williams faced the New Orleans Baby Cakes last week. His team, the Memphis Redbirds, played at The Shrine last Tuesday-Thursday.


Williams started all three games in the series — his best game coming on Wednesday night when he smashed a deep, two-run home run over the center field fences.

In that game, Williams also made a diving catch to ignite the crowd — most of which was at the game on his behalf.

The Houma native said being back home was fun, adding that it was good to see a few friendly faces. 


In addition to the home run, he also recorded a base hit in Thursday night’s game — the only game that Memphis won in the three-game series.

“It was comforting,” Williams said. “I was really happy to see a lot of familiar faces. I want to use this space to say thank you to everyone for coming out and supporting me. It means a lot.”

For Williams, the successful week was arguably his best since joining the St. Louis Cardinals organization.


Williams was drafted out of Terrebonne High School by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2013 MLB Draft, but he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2014. 

With Tampa, Williams blossomed from a player with potential into a bonafide top prospect.

In 2015, Williams hit played in A-Ball and hit .277 with 7 home runs and 48 RBI in 122 games. 


In 2016, the Houma native started in A-Ball, but then accelerated to Double-A for the final 39 games of the season. Williams was plagued by injury in 2016, but still hit .295 with 10 home runs and 59 RBI in 90 games.

During that year, Williams emerged and was heralded by scouts as one of the top prospects in Tampa’s loaded system. He ascended to as high as No. 8 in the Rays’ system at his peak.

Last year, Williams cashed in on those prognostications with a huge year. He hit .301 with 14 home runs and 72 RBI in 96 games, while also slugging .489 and carrying a .853 OPS. Williams walked a career-best 37 times last year and cut down on his strikeouts. He also stole 6 bases. 


For his efforts, he was named to the Baseball America Double-A All-Star Team. He also was named an Organizational All-Star in the Tampa Bay System and a Postseason All-Star. 

That momentum led Williams into 2018, which has been the most memorable year of his pro career. 

Williams did spring training with the MLB club and was named to the club’s 40-man roster before the start of the season. He was also summoned to Triple-A after failing to make the MLB club in Spring Training, opening his season with the Durham Bulls.


With Durham, Williams continued to shine. In 94 games with Durham, Williams hit .258 with 8 home runs and 46 RBI. 

He did well enough to be called up to the Major Leagues for a spot-appearance in late-July. In one game, Williams was a reserve, but played in the late innings, recording an at-bat, while playing defensively for the final few innings.

At the time of his call-up, Williams called the experience a dream come true, citing that he’d never forget that night for as long as he lived.


Just a week after the spot-appearance, Williams was again given a memorable baseball moment when he was traded from the Tampa Bay organization to the St. Louis Cardinals — part of a four-player trade which netted the Rays outfielder Tommy Pham.

In St. Louis’ organization, Williams is still in Triple-A, but he now plays for the Memphis Redbirds. With Durham, he was never eligible to face the Baby Cakes because the clubs are in opposite leagues. But Memphis is in the same division as New Orleans, so the teams face several times a year.

But Williams hopes the New Orleans series was just a one-off. He hopes to be playing soon in the Major Leagues.


With Memphis, Williams has had a hard time finding traction. In 18 games, he’s hit just .226 (14-of-62). But three of his 14 hits have been home runs and three others have been doubles.

Against New Orleans, Williams hit the ball hard several times in the series. On Wednesday, he hit a home run and also a rocket shot, which was right at the center fielder for an out.

Williams said he was nervous heading into the series, adding that he’d not experienced the pressure of playing in front of family in quite some time. 


After going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Tuesday, Williams broke out on Wednesday with the first-inning home run.

“It was a sense of relief,” Williams said with a laugh. “After that, I didn’t feel any pressure. I could just play baseball.”

He ended the series going 1-of-3 in the finale.


From here, Williams hopes to continue to swing well in hopes of finishing the year in the Bigs.

MLB rosters expand on Sept. 1 and teams often poach their Minor League systems to add depth to their rosters. The Cardinals still in playoff contention, which means that Williams could feasibly get critical at-bats later this year.

Williams said whether he gets called up or not, he plans to work hard this offseason in hopes of trying to make the team outright next spring.


He said he will continue to chase his dream of being an every-day MLB player.

“That’s where I want to be,” Williams said. “I’m getting closer, but there’s still work that needs to be done.”

Justin Williams – CardinalsMike Carlson


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