Jerome Williams had to grow up quickly. He was just 17 when he started his pro career playing Class A ball in Salem, Oregon.

"It was tough because growing up in Hawaii, I had never been to the mainland before," said the Lancaster Barnstormers' right-hander, who was raised on the west side of Oahu.

"I kind of made that adjustment real quick. I learned I had to be a man at a young age. I learned how to take care of myself and I just moved on from there."

Two years later, Williams had to grow up even more. In 2001, when he was still working his way through the minors, his mom died of breast cancer. So she never got to see him reach the big leagues, which he did at the age of 21.

Selected by San Francisco with the 39th overall pick in the 1999 draft, he made his major league debut for the Giants in 2003 at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium. The first batter he struck out was Pat Burrell.

When he pitched, Williams wore a puka shell necklace that his Hawaiian mom made for him just before she passed away. "I always wore it and I always thought of her when I pitched," he said.

The necklace raised awareness and money to help fight breast cancer. He no longer wears the necklace, because he wants to preserve it and sometimes the shells break when he is pitching. But, he said, "I always know that she's going to be there with me."

Williams had early success with the Giants. He was 7-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 21 starts in 2003, which included two complete games. And he won 10 games for San Francisco in '04.

Early in the 2005 season, he was traded to the Cubs, where he counted Greg Maddux among his mentors. "He helped me with my change-up and my sinker," Williams said. "He was teaching me how to pitch."

Williams had been relying on his raw talent, the fact that he could throw 94 miles per hour. Like most every kid, he thought his physical prowess would last forever and he was in the majors for good. He was wrong.

"When you're coming up in the minor leagues, if you're a pitcher who can throw pretty hard, you can get away with a lot," he said. "From short season to A ball to Double-A you can get away with a lot of things.

"Once you hit Double-A, they're hitters who can sit on your fastball. So from that point on, from there to the big leagues, it changes. You have to know how to locate. The strike zone gets a little bit smaller and if you throw a mistake it's going to get hit."

After going 0-5 with a 7.20 ERA in six games for Washington in 2007, Williams found himself back in the minors. For his major league career, he is 23-29 with a 4.25 ERA in 76 games, 71 starts.

"I took it for granted when I was there (in the majors)," he said. "I said, 'I'm here, I'm not going nowhere. I'm staying here.' Then reality kicked me in the butt and said, 'some guy can take your spot.' And they did."

His less-than-serious work ethic was part of the problem.

"I relied on my arm and I didn't really work at it," he said. "I didn't really work myself out. I was overweight. That's what got me. Now I look at it like, I wish I would have known everything I know now back then."

Williams spent the 2008 and '09 seasons in the minors and last year pitched in Taiwan. This year, he has dazzled Atlantic League batters by going 1-0 with a 1.56 ERA in three games. He has struck out 17 and walked just four in 17.1 innings.

"I kind of learned how to pitch again," he said. "I learned how to trust all my pitches."

Williams uses five pitches (fastball, change-up, sinker, cutter and curve ball), and is comfortable throwing any of them in any situation.

"He does everything you could ask," said Barnstormers pitching coach Marty Janzen, who sees no flaws in Williams' game. "He's got good stuff and he knows what to do with it. He manages the game well. He challenges hitters. He fields his position well. He holds runners well. I'm sure he's not going to be here long."

Janzen believes Williams will soon be signed by an affiliated organization or go back to pitch in Asia.

"I still feel like I'm young," said Williams, now 29. "I feel right now, I'm in my prime.

"I kind of peaked when I was young because of my ability. But now, since I've been in the game a pretty long time, now I know how to pitch. And now I have knowledge of the game."

With that knowledge and his talent, Williams is likely to leave soon. Perhaps on his way back to the majors. "That's the No. 1 goal for me is to get back there," he said.

Williams is scheduled to start for the Barnstormers in this morning's game vs. Somerset. The advice for Barnstormers fans is to see him now while you still can.

bwilson@lnpnews.com