Ben Williamson really did not have a good year at the plate last year. He looked hopelessly overmatched by big league pitching. Hopefully, he's learned some things and will come back stronger this year.
The biggest issues for Williamson last year was lack of production. He hit 1 home run and had an OPS of .604, just abysmal for a third baseman. You can sacrifice production for defense at catcher, shortstop and second base, but you need more from your corner infielders. Despite the fact that he displayed no power last year, he still had 64 strikeouts to 15 walks, a ratio of less than 1 walk for every 4 strikeouts, or less than .25. (A good walk to strikeout ratio is .50, or 1 walk for every 2 strikeouts.)
Reasons to be optimistic: At various points in the minors, Williamson has had better years at the plate. He had an OPS of .854 at Tacoma last year. He has never hit for much power, and he's struggled with a high strikeout rate, but he did have fewer Ks in Tacoma last year against AAA pitching, so that's encouraging.
