Healthy Williams heating up for Biscuits

After missing almost all of May with a knee contusion, Justin Williams is back to 100 percent. And his numbers reflect his return to health. 
The Rays' No. 10 prospect went 3-for-5 with four RBIs to lead Double-A Montgomery to a 9-3 victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. It was the fourth multi-hit game in a row for Williams, who's 9-for-18 over with a double and seven RBIs during that stretch.

"I've been on time the past few games," Williams said. "Usually when I go through rough patches, I expand the zone a lot and swing at pitchers' pitches instead of working the count and getting a pitch I could drive."
Gameday box score
Williams injured his knee when he collided with the wall on April 19 against Jackson and tried to play through the pain before he was placed on the disabled list.
"It took two or three weeks for the edema to go down," Williams said. "I played a few more games ... and I spoke to [athletic trainer] Scott Thurston after the fact, which was a mistake on my part. He told me that playing on it was a bad idea because the only way to heal a contusion is through rest."
When Williams returned to the Biscuits' lineup for two games on May 30-31, it was clear he wasn't quite right, so he went to Florida for a brief rehab assignment.
"I went down to extended spring training to get back into baseball shape," Williams said. "I want to thank [Rays director of Minor League operations] Mitch Lukevics and whoever else made that decision. Guys don't realize how fast you can fall out of baseball shape -- it could just take a few days, let alone a month."
In his fourth game back in the Southern League, Williams put the Biscuits ahead with an RBI single to center field in the first inning. The 2013 second-round pick delivered another run-scoring single in the fifth, this time going to left. 
The 21-year-old drove in two more runs with a single to left in the ninth, his third two-out hit of the game. 

"I didn't expand the zone and stayed aggressive on pitches I could handle," he said. "Earlier this season, I was being too passive, so tonight I was just focused on having quality plate appearances instead of having one or two OK at-bats and then just completely throwing away the other two. Now I'm stepping up to the plate and taking each at-bat and pitch one at a time."
In 26 games with the Biscuits, Williams has a .321/.336/.481 slash line, three homers and 16 RBIs. In addition to producing at the dish, he said he's putting more effort this year into improving his game in right field. 
"If I have a bad at-bat, I go play defense and try to make a play," Williams said. "[Hitting coach] Dan DeMent always tells me, if I can't get a hit to take one away."
"I've been working with [coach] Gary Redus on my pre-pitch movement and it has helped me get better jumps on balls because last year I felt I was moving too much, which allowed me to false-step and get beat on balls over my head or not get to balls on either side of me. Gary told me to just put my hands on my knees and work on it during batting practice. Now when balls are hit to my left or right, I'm making some sort of movement to go with the ball and it's really helping me."

For Williams, making an impact off the field is just as important, if not more, than what he does between the lines. The 6-foot-2 right fielder grew up in Houma, Louisiana, where football is king. In addition to buying new jerseys last year for his alma mater, Terrabonne High School, he hopes to keep giving back to his hometown.
"Every time I get a chance, I talk to a few guys back there," Williams said. "They call me and seek advice and I do the best to give them the best advice possible about life lessons I've gone through and learned from. I try to look out for guys who want help and I do my best to help them out. Hopefully, one day I can open up a hitting facility or something to contribute to Houma, because baseball there isn't up to par with places like California or Arizona."
Grant Kay went 4-for-5 with three doubles and two RBIs for Montgomery, while Mac James went 3-for-4 with a solo homer, his first at the Double-A level. Biscuits right-hander José Mujica won his third straight start after limiting the Jumbo Shrimp to three runs on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings.