Devin Williams Ends Up as Lone Brewers All-MLB Representative

If there was any Milwaukee Brewers player who was going to take home multiple pieces of hardware this offseason it was All-Star closer Devin Wililams. Saturday's announcement made that possibility into a reality.

MLB announced their All-MLB team for the 2023 season on Saturday. The Brewers ended up with one representative on the team - Devin Williams, who was named one of the two relievers on the All-MLB second team.

The honor is the second one to be bestowed upon Williams this offseason. He already had been named the National League's Reliever of the Year for the 2023 season making it the second time he had received that award after winning it previously in 2020.

On Saturday, Brewers closer Devin Williams was named to the All-MLB second team.

Unlike the Reliever of the Year awards which are specific to the AL and NL, the All-MLB honors are exactly as they sound, determining the best players at each position across the entire league. But whether AL or NL, Williams stacked up agaisnt the best of the best in 2023.

Williams ranked sixth among all MLB relievers in fWAR at 1.8, ERA at 1.53, and WHIP at 0.920 last season while ranking fifth with 36 saves and fourth with a 37.7% strikeout rate. With numbers like that, it's perhaps surprising that he only made the All-MLB second team.

Despite finishing second to Williams in the NL Reliever of the Year race, former Brewer Josh Hader won the spot on the All-MLB first team over the Milwaukee closer. That's despite Williams finishing better than Hader in four of the five aforementioned categories.

Besides Williams, only a couple other Brewers really had any possible chance of making the All-MLB team. Catcher William Contreras had a very strong season in his first year in Brewer blue but couldn't crack either team after two very good AL catchers in Adley Rutschman and Jonah Heim claimed the only two spots.

Meanwhile, Corbin Burnes may not have had a year that quite matched his standards set in 2021-2, but it still ended with a 3.39 ERA, NL-leading 1.069 WHIP, and an eight place finish in NL Cy Young voting. But even with ten starting pitcher spots across the two All-MLB teams, Burnes was left off as well.

Williams has been up to the task for every challenge that has been thrown his way so far in his MLB career. This year, that included being a closer for a full year for the first time in his career, and it didn't come close to stopping him from bringing home multiple awards come the offseason.