MLB Insider Names Brewers Reliever as Player Hurt Most by 2023 Rule Changes

Major League Baseball recently unveiled several rule changes that will come into effect once the 2023 season begins. Some changes will affect batters, such as the elimination of the shift, while others will affect pitchers, including the 15-second pitch clock.

Certain players won't have any issue adapting to the new rules, but others will. In fact, The Athletic's Eno Sarris sees Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams as one player that'll be hurt the most by the 15-second pitch clock.

MLB Rule Changes

The new pitch clock rule states that pitchers have 15 seconds to throw a pitch if there aren't any runners on base. That time increases to 20 seconds if the bases aren't empty. If a pitch isn't thrown before time runs out, the hurler will be charged with a ball.

The clock will hurt pitchers who like to take their time on the mound. That doesn't bode well for Williams, who is among one of the MLB's slowest pitchers. Baseball Savant lists him as having an average tempo of 24.5 seconds when bases are empty and 30.5 seconds when there's a runner on base — both among the sixth-slowest times.

Taking his time has been effective for Williams, who's 6-3 with a 1.76 ERA and 13 saves through 19 relief appearances this year. However, he must speed up his delivery by about 10 seconds, leaving time to tell just how that'll affect his performance in 2023 and beyond.

Brewers World Series Odds

For now, Williams doesn't have to worry about those changes. Instead, he must focus on helping his Brewers grab a playoff spot. If the club is successful, Milwaukee currently has +20000 odds (No. 13) to win the 2022 World Series on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.