In The System: Williams gets the call after tweaking swing

SAN DIEGO -- Alika Wllliams was heading to the airport at Indianapolis Monday night whenever he got a call from his manager, Miguel Perez. Perez asked if Williams had any family in San Diego. He did, and is a graduate of the close by Rancho Bernardo high school.

That worked out nicely, because Williams was going to be jumping on a plane at the airport to join the Pirates.

"Complete surprise," a smiling Williams said at his locker at PETCO Park Tuesday.

It wasn't much of a surprise on the Pirates end, though, after Tucupita Marcano exited Monday's game with a right knee ligament injury. The team put him on the 60-day injured list Tuesday and knew they would need another middle infielder.

That opened the door for Williams, a former first-round pick of the Rays that the Pirates acquired in May for Robert Stephenson.

"[He's] somebody I thought we would see at some point this year," Derek Shelton said. "Unfortunately it comes with Tucu’s injury but excited to get a look at him."

Williams' calling card has always been his defense, but it wasn't until he got to Class AAA Indianapolis that his offense took off. In 36 games with the Indians, he slashed .305/.384/.531 with seven home runs, 14.9% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate in 36 games. After fairly mediocre results in his time with the Rays system, he's shown signs of breaking out by focusing on his leg kick and load.

Comparing a swing from Indianapolis to one he had with Montgomery, the Rays' Class AA affiliate, he is starting his movement a little earlier, and it appears he gets locked in quicker. Williams has described it as being smoother with his motion:

"I think starting earlier and slower allows me to actually see the pitch coming in instead of jumping at the pitch, speed up at the pitch coming at you," Williams said. "It's been as simple as that right now."

Williams has been regarded a plus defender up the middle, and Shelton anticipates that's how he will be used until they get to know him better. After all, the team only has a few dozen games of internal information to pull from.

But if the bat continues to play in the majors, it stands to reason that Shelton could start looking for different ways to get him into the lineup.

"I feel really good about that," Williams said about his offense. "Obviously you've got to keep working to stay with it for an extended period of time. But right now, it's nice to see some results. I'm hoping to continue that trend."

WHO IS HOT?

AAA Indianapolis: Right-handed reliever Colin Selby has not been scored upon in the month of July, striking out a dozen with only one walk and two hits allowed over 6 2/3 innings. Selby was added to the roster this winter but has yet to make his major-league debut.

AA Altoona: Right-hander Braxton Ashcraft has been showing improved velocity and stuff for the Curve of late, allowing just one unearned run in his last five starts, totaling 11 innings. The 23-year-old former second-round pick is in his first year back from his 2021 Tommy John surgery, and he's touching 98 mph. Something to keep in mind from a potential late-bloomer since he is Rule 5 eligible this winter.

A+ Greensboro: Is Bubba Chandler finally on the verge of a breakout? This has been a troubling year results wise, though the stuff hasn't taken a step back. He did have a great week, though, striking out 14 and only allowing four hits over 10 2/3 scoreless innings over his two starts. His first year as a full-time pitcher has had some bumps, but also some very bright spots.

A- Bradenton: First baseman Josiah Sighter went 3-for-4 Sunday, raising his batting average this July to .536 with six doubles and six home runs over 56 at-bats. Sighter, 23, was a 15-round pick in last year's draft, so he will need to quickly advance through the lower levels if he wants to get on the major-league level. He's doing that so far, which is why he was promoted to Greensboro Tuesday.

SOMETHING TO WATCH

Baseball America is less bullish on 2022 first-round pick Termarr Johnson than they were a year ago, dropping him their No. 49 spot on their top prospects list to start the year to No. 94 in their midseason update, citing an "overly passive" approach at the plate. While Johnson's strikeout rate has gradually gone down as the season progressed, he has still struck out 27.4% of the time, so it's easy to see that assessment in his results.

Johnson also has a 20.4% walk rate and the power is finally starting to show up, as he's homered five times in his last 11 games. Could a more aggressive approach help? Probably, but that's one of the things a young player usually has to feel out in their first full season.

In this reporter's opinion, it's not time to hit the panic button yet. Not when he can do things like this:

CLIP OF THE WEEK

Yes, this was in a Pirates Feed earlier, but what's going to top Roberto Clemente III delivering the first pitch after the Curve retired No. 21 Friday:

With a good portion of the top prospects list in the majors and the draft picks being sorted out, the tracking of the top prospects is going to be put on hold for a bit until the midseason updates of top prospect lists. This portion of the feature will return shortly.