The Resilient Brandon Williamson: Overcoming Shoulder and Elbow Injuries to Redefine His Pitching Style
The New Brandon Williamson
Goodyear, Arizona — Brandon Williamson's journey in the Cincinnati Reds' organization has been a tale of resilience and reinvention. Until recently, his story was one of managing a persistent left shoulder issue, which plagued him in 2022, a year when he was a top-100 prospect on the cusp of his major league debut.
That shoulder problem not only affected his performance but also altered his pitching approach in 2023. Williamson made on-the-fly adjustments in the big leagues, emerging as the Reds' most consistent pitcher that year. However, the shoulder continued to cause issues, leading to a lengthy absence in 2024 from late March until early September.
It was during this time that Williamson's shoulder troubles escalated, resulting in a torn UCL muscle in his elbow and forcing him to miss the entire 2025 season. Reflecting on his situation, Williamson acknowledges that his shoulder issues were the root cause of his elbow injury. "The shoulder got tired, and it made me drop (my arm slot) down a bit," he explained. "That put extra stress on my elbow. The shoulder was the thing that kicked off my elbow. At the time, I didn’t want to think like that. Now, I think my shoulder was the reason my elbow went."
Despite these setbacks, Williamson is now fully recovered and ready to make a comeback. While Chase Burns is projected to secure the fifth spot in the rotation, Williamson remains a strong contender. Regardless of the outcome, the importance of starting pitching depth in the MLB cannot be overstated, and Williamson is poised to get his chance in 2026.
When he does, fans can expect a vastly different pitcher from the one they saw in 2023. "I was pitching close to my floor in 2023 because my arm, even then, was just not what it is now," Williamson noted. "It’s not what it has been in the past because my shoulder was achy. It was protect mode when I’d throw. Now, I can elevate my game with being able to let the ball go. I don’t have to protect it."
Since the end of the 2023 season, Williamson has pitched in just four big league games, all in September 2024. The past two and a half years have been dedicated to rehabilitating his shoulder and elbow. "We did so much shoulder rehab that you couldn’t possibly have done any more," Williamson said. "It’s built up stronger. I don’t feel it when I throw anymore. I don’t go home and ache. I’m hoping it’s gone. I’m not a fortune teller. But we’ve given it the best chance to be healthy."
In 2023, Williamson was called up in May, even though he wasn’t pitching well in Triple-A. His shoulder was not in top form, which affected his ability to generate swings and misses, a key aspect of his pitching repertoire. The Reds had targeted Williamson as the centerpiece of the Eugenio Suárez trade in 2022 due to his reputation as a strikeout pitcher. As a minor leaguer with the Mariners in 2021, Williamson boasted the fifth-best strikeout rate in all of Minor League Baseball, striking out 14 batters per nine innings. His arsenal included an elite fastball for a left-handed pitching prospect and a wicked curveball as a change-up weapon.
However, due to his shoulder issues, Williamson couldn’t fully harness these pitches in 2023. As a result, he says, he was pitching close to his limits. He made some adjustments and found a cutter-slider combo that worked for him, contributing to 23 starts and some memorable moments for the Reds, who finished the year with a winning record.
In spring training 2024, the shoulder issue became so severe that Williamson considered shoulder surgery. He began the year on the IL and rehabilitated from March through the middle of August. On August 27, he started a rehab assignment and pitched 2 ⅔ innings in Louisville. Meanwhile, Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, and Nick Lodolo all suffered injuries and went on the IL. The Reds suddenly found themselves without a starting rotation, and the coaching staff and front office were crossing their fingers every night that the team would be able to piece together nine innings.
Desperate, the Reds activated Williamson from the IL on September 1. He had only one rehab start under his belt as he returned from an injury that had kept him on the shelf all season. It was a surprising move, and one that left me equally astonished. Williamson pitched in four big league games and posted a 3.77 ERA. However, on September 17, his elbow blew out.
"If I wasn’t pitching well at the time, I probably would have shut it down (earlier)," Williamson said. "But to be pitching the way I was, I thought my shoulder could only be so wrong if my performance was this good. If my performance went down, (I’d think) there was something wrong. Hindsight is 20-20. If I’d have known I’d blow my elbow out, I probably would have stopped. But I was still performing. How do you stop?"
He underwent surgery and missed the entire 2025 season. This gave him a full year to strengthen his shoulder and elbow. He says that he used this time to "adapt" his game.
When he returns to the mound, Williamson predicts that the most noticeable difference will be in his velocity. In 2023, his fastball hovered around 91 mph. This year, even though it’s the first week of spring and he’s early in his build-up process, he’s already sitting in the mid-90s. In 2023, Williamson said that he always had to pitch "slow-to-fast," using off-speed pitches to set up his fastball. Now, he can also pitch "fast-to-slow," getting ahead with his fastball and using off-speed pitches to finish at-bats with strikeouts. He struck out 7.5 batters per nine innings in 2023, and that number should be better this year.
"Now, I can pitch in two different ways," Williamson said. "That gives me more of an arsenal to attack a more diverse group of hitters."
Williamson’s development continued during the offseason with a trip to Maven, a pitching lab. There, he received a few keys to clean up some mechanical aspects of his pitching. He found a way to create more rotational force in his windup, which generates more velocity. He showcased this during a live batting practice session on Wednesday, blowing a fastball past Eugenio Suárez.
"I can throw better stuff," Williamson said. "That’s sheerly what it is. Better stuff. I’m looking forward to that type of pitching again. I’m going to use my pitchability and my brain and think through at-bats with deep thought. Now, I can also get away with throwing stuff as hard as I can."
When he was injured and had to rely more on the art of pitching, Williamson said that he learned about sequencing, reading hitters, and setting up pitches. Now, he can combine these lessons with increased strength and better stuff. "You have to adapt to all of the things the game throws at you," Williamson said. "Now that my arm is healthy, I know how to pitch, and I have a healthy arm."
He hasn’t been able to say that until now. And as he says it, there’s a big smile on his face. After missing nearly two full seasons, Williamson gets a chance to compete again. It’s an opportunity to show what he’s fully capable of. "I reminded (him), you’re young once," Terry Francona said. "You’ve worked your (tail) off. Just embrace and enjoy competing."
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