Justin Paul Williams (born August 20, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for the

Milwaukee Milkmen The Milwaukee Milkmen are an independent baseball team based in Franklin, Wisconsin. They are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. They began play in 2019 and play hom ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Amateur career

Williams attended

Terrebonne High School Terrebonne High School is a high school in Houma, Louisiana. It is a part of the Terrebonne Parish School District. History In 1969 Southdown High School (originally Houma Colored High School), which educated black students in Terrebonne Parish, ...

in Houma,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He hit .443 with 22

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 67

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI) over 79 games. Williams was drafted by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

in the second round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Williams signed with the Diamondbacks rather than play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

(LSU) and made his professional debut that season with

Arizona League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields ...

. He also played with the

Missoula Osprey The Missoula PaddleHeads are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Missoula, Montana, and play their home games at Ogren Par ...

and

South Bend Silver Hawks South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

that season. He hit .351 with one home run in 51 games. In 2014, he played for Missoula and South Bend. In 74 games he hit .351 with four home runs and 46 RBIs.

Tampa Bay Rays

On November 14, 2014, Williams along with

Andrew Velazquez Andrew Velazquez (born July 14, 1994), nicknamed "Squid", is an American professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore ...

was traded from the Diamondbacks to the

for

Jeremy Hellickson Jeremy Robert Hellickson (born April 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Na ...

. He spent 2015 with the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

and

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

, compiling a combined .277 batting average with seven home runs and 48 RBIs in 122 games, and 2016 with Charlotte and the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

where he batted .295 with ten home runs and 59 RBIs in 90 total games. In 2017, Williams played for Montgomery where he slashed .301/.364/.489 with 14 home runs and 72 RBIs in 96 games. The Rays added him to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season. Williams was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on July 21, 2018.

St. Louis Cardinals

On July 31, 2018, Williams, along with

Génesis Cabrera Génesis Cabrera (born October 10, 1996) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019. Career Tampa Bay Rays Cabrera signed with the Tampa Bay Rays as an i ...

and

Roel Ramírez Roel Octavio Ramírez (born May 26, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. The Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the eighth round of the 2013 MLB draft. He has previously played in Major Le ...

, were traded to the

in exchange for

Tommy Pham Thomas James Pham (born March 8, 1988) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston R ...

. Williams was optioned to the minors and would not appear in the major leagues again until September 16, 2020. In 2021, Williams made the Opening Day roster after batting .229 with one home run over 35 spring training at-bats. Williams hit his first major-league home run on April 16, 2021, off of

Zach Eflin Zack or Zach may refer to: People * Zach (surname), various people * Zack (surname), various people * Zack (personal name), lists of people and fictional characters named Zack, Zach, Zac, Zak or Zakk * Záh (gens) or Zách, a ''gens'' (clan) in th ...

, in a game against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. He was eventually placed on the injured list. Over 51 games prior to the injury, he batted .160/.270/.261 with four home runs and 11 RBIs. After being activated, he was optioned to the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

with whom he finished the year. He was removed from the 40-man roster on November 5, 2021 and elected free agency on November 9. He became a free agent following the season.

Philadelphia Phillies

On March 8, 2022, Williams signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He split time between four Phillies minor league affiliates: the rookie-level

Florida Complex League Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

, the Single-A

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 2 ...

, the High-A

Jersey Shore BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locati ...

, and the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

. In 27 games, he hit a cumulative .211/.324/.300 with one home run, 11 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. He elected free agency following the season on November 10.

Milwaukee Milkmen

On April 13, 2023, Williams signed with the

of the

.https://aabaseball.com/transactions/

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Justin 1995 births Living people African-American baseball players Sportspeople from Houma, Louisiana Baseball players from Louisiana Major League Baseball outfielders Tampa Bay Rays players St. Louis Cardinals players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Missoula Osprey players South Bend Silver Hawks players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Brisbane Bandits players Montgomery Biscuits players Peoria Javelinas players Durham Bulls players Springfield Cardinals players Memphis Redbirds players Águilas de Mexicali players American expatriate baseball players in Australia American expatriate baseball players in Mexico 21st-century African-American sportspeople