Blue Jays 2021 MLB Draft Canadian Prospect Watch: Malik Williams

Blue Jays Canadian Draft Watch: We’ll be featuring Toronto-born, powerhouse first basemen, Malik Williams. Williams is a current junior at Lipscomb University, Division 1 out of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Background

This kid is the real deal; definitely not a bat you want to face as a closer in the home-half of the inning, up only one run.  He stands at 6’4”, 231lbs, does it all from the right-side and guards one-bag.  His talent started to showcase itself in High School, out of SATEC, WA Porter College Institute in Scarborough, Ontario, where he was the No. 9 ranked player in Canada.  His high school years also had him competing with the Ontario Blue Jays organization, where Perfect Game USA labelled a national rank of 463 overall, with a 13th overall rank at first base.

College Career

Out of the graduating class of 2017, Malik committed to Johnson County CC where the noise began and grew louder. He batted a .419 average with 33 doubles, four triples, 27 home runs, 106 runs, 64 extra-base hits while driving in 132 RBI.  He ranked 11th in batting average, third in hits, and sixth in home runs.  He was tied for third in the conference and 20th in the NJCAA in terms of home runs.

Toronto Blue Jays Canadian Draft Watch: We’ll be featuring Toronto-born, powerhouse first basemen, Malik Williams. Williams is a current junior at Lipscomb University, Division 1 out of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

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Thought only his bat was solid?  He had a fielding percentage of .982 with only seven committed errors in 398 fielding chances. He was ranked 197th on the 2019 Perfect Game USA top 300 prospect list.  This paved the way to his next venture, Division 1.

Williams took his talents to Lipscomb University in 2020, where he lit the league on fire from the batter’s box.  He played 16 games, where he batted .297, collecting 19 hits in 64 at-bats, driving in 14 runs, while fencing a team-leading 4 long-balls.  In 2020, he was ranked fourth in the Atlantic Sun Conference in RBI, and tied for second in home runs.

In 2021, he appeared at the plate 153 times, pushing 49 hits with 23 runs batted in, and two home runs, finishing the year with a .320 average.  From first base, Williams finished with a fielding percentage of .989, only committing 3 errors.

Evaluation/Scouting Report

Williams is a work-horse brick wall right-handed stick with tons of power, raw power.  He is athletic build, showing strength full house.  He’s primarily a pull hitter, caused by on-point timing and fiery bat speed.  He’s capable of using all fields, with the ability to spray gap-to-gap. He’s shown good pitch recognition with an established wheel-house.  Williams is dependable with runners on base; he’s shown the ability to work counts and put the ball in play.  He’s also a threat on base with an above-average grade of running.  Williams is comparable to a 2007-2008 Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, based on numerical similarities and makeup.

GRADE SCALE

HIT: 65               POWER: 60          FIELD: 50              ARM: 50              RUN: 50

Recommended Draft Round: 11

Malik Williams would be a solid offensive addition to the Toronto Blue Jays and their upcoming system.  The Toronto-born slugger is draft-eligible and would fit a Blue Jays role perfectly.