Kahlil Watson

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Cleveland Guardians #22 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Watson went into the 2021 draft regarded as one of the top prep players in the country but slid to No. 16 overall, where the Marlins were happy to draft him. His transition to pro ball hasn’t been smooth, however. Watson has struggled offensively in full-season ball and a suspension cost him nearly a month in 2022. The Guardians acquired him at the 2023 trade deadline as a part of the deal that sent Josh Bell to the Marlins.
  
  Scouting Report: While most of the Guardians’ prospects fall into a hit-over-power profile, Watson is different. Though he’s not the most physical player, he has electric bat speed and there’s no shortage of impact in his swing. He’s an aggressive hitter who swings and misses quite often, but he did cut his strikeout rate from 35.1% in 2022 to 26.8% in 2023. Getting back to the more selective approach he showed in high school would help him make the most of his offensive tools. Watson has primarily been a shortstop in pro ball and his plus arm and above-average speed play well there. He’ll need to become a more consistent defender to stay at the position, however.
  
  The Future: Watson is loaded with exciting tools but hasn’t been able to put it all together yet in pro ball. There’s still time for him to make good on his significant upside after his change of scenery. He’ll still be 20 on Opening Day, but 2024 is a big year for him.
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Field: 50 | Arm: 60
• 
  Ranked Miami Marlins #15 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Very High
  
  Track Record: There was plenty of surprise around the industry when Watson, who entered the year as one of the top-ranked players available, tumbled all the way to the Marlins at the 16th overall pick. He was as tooled-up as any player on the board and had performed well, so Miami was happy to snatch him up and sign him for $4,540,790. His first full season as a pro was rough and was plagued by both high amounts of swing and miss and an incident that led to a month long demotion from Low-A.
  
  Scouting Report: Watson is still as talented as anyone in the system, but he needs a lot of work to turn those skills into production. His bat speed is electric and he makes plenty of impact on contact--his average exit velocity was 87.5 mph--but he still struck out 35% of the time at Low-A. Evaluators will see bright spots in spurts and the Marlins' player-development staff believes he's done a good job taking the lessons from his coaching staff but sometimes gets too impatient when they don't provide immediate results and starts trying to do too much too soon. More than anything, he needs to be more selective to let his natural fits shine. He chased a 36% rate and swung and missed in the zone at a 26% rate. He will likely move off of shortstop, though not immediately. Watson has the quick feet and strong arm to play an excellent second base, but he has to clean up his consistency and stay more focused. He's an above-average runner now but might slow down a tick as he ages.
  
  The Future: Watson will move to High-A Beloit in 2023. He needs a huge rebound to achieve anything close to his original ceiling but the tools are there to be a big leaguer of some stripe one day.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 40. Power: 55. Speed: 50. Fielding: 55. Arm: 60.
• 
  Ranked Miami Marlins #2 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Watson used the summer showcase circuit to cement his status as one of the top prospects in the country but took a curious tumble on draft night. The Marlins stopped his slide at No. 16 and signed him away from his North Carolina State commitment for $4,540,790. Watson had a successful but short debut in the Florida Complex League before his season was cut short by a hamstring strain. He got back on the field at the team’s development camp in October.
  
  Scouting Report: Watson’s prodigious bat speed is his biggest asset. He uses an extremely strong lower half to whip his bat through the zone and produce all-fields power without a lot of wasted movement. He does so while maintaining the barrel malleability to hit for plenty of average as well. Watson shows well against mid-90s fastballs and displays the strike zone discipline to confidently take borderline pitches. There are a few minor kinks to be worked out, such as a small hitch in his load that affects his timing and balance, but he’s so strong and has such barrel awareness that he can still be a plus hitter with above-average power. Watson has the speed and the athleticism to stick at shortstop, but he needs to improve his footwork. He is a plus runner and makes plenty of highlight-reel plays with his range and above-average arm strength, but he also commits clunkers on routine plays and needs to improve his focus on defense.
  
  The Future: Watson will get his first full-season test in 2022 at Low-A Jupiter. If he shores his defense, he can be a true five-tool talent.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #6 prospect in 2021 draft
  Watson was one of the standout performers over the summer showcase circuit and immediately put himself in first-round territory after a standout showing at East Coast Pro, where he ran a 6.5 60-yard-dash and looked like one of the best hitters at the event. Watson isn’t the most physical player you’ll see, listed at 5-foot-9, 178 pounds, but there are scouts in the industry who believe his combination of athleticism, tools and defensive profile give him the most upside in the class. Watson has outstanding bat speed and plenty of strength in his swing, with a tendency to take massive hacks and try to hit for power. Despite that approach, he has shown a smooth, lefthanded swing and an ability to manipulate his barrel, with impressive at-bats against some of the best pitchers in the class over the summer. Against mid-90s fastballs and some of the best breaking balls the prep class has to offer, Watson seemed perfectly comfortable within his at-bats, spitting on pitches out of the zone, drawing walks when he needed to and driving pitches in his hitting zone when the opportunity arose. That approach and his physical tools should allow him to project as an above-average hitter with solid or better power. Watson is a tremendous athlete who has turned in 70-grade run times at various events and should be at least a plus runner consistently. Defensively, he has all the tools to stick at shortstop, with quick-twitch actions, solid glove work and 60-grade arm strength. There have been some scouts who think he might fit best at second base or perhaps in center field in the long run thanks to his speed and athleticism, but there’s no tool he’s missing that he needs to be an above-average defensive shortstop. Watson is committed to North Carolina State, where he would continue a solid run of impressive shortstops out of the program, but he is a lock to be drafted among the top-10 picks.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #60 prospect in 2022

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Very High
  
  Track Record: There was plenty of surprise around the industry when Watson, who entered the year as one of the top-ranked players available, tumbled all the way to the Marlins at the 16th overall pick. He was as tooled-up as any player on the board and had performed well, so Miami was happy to snatch him up and sign him for $4,540,790. His first full season as a pro was rough and was plagued by both high amounts of swing and miss and an incident that led to a month long demotion from Low-A.
  
  Scouting Report: Watson is still as talented as anyone in the system, but he needs a lot of work to turn those skills into production. His bat speed is electric and he makes plenty of impact on contact--his average exit velocity was 87.5 mph--but he still struck out 35% of the time at Low-A. Evaluators will see bright spots in spurts and the Marlins' player-development staff believes he's done a good job taking the lessons from his coaching staff but sometimes gets too impatient when they don't provide immediate results and starts trying to do too much too soon. More than anything, he needs to be more selective to let his natural fits shine. He chased a 36% rate and swung and missed in the zone at a 26% rate. He will likely move off of shortstop, though not immediately. Watson has the quick feet and strong arm to play an excellent second base, but he has to clean up his consistency and stay more focused. He's an above-average runner now but might slow down a tick as he ages.
  
  The Future: Watson will move to High-A Beloit in 2023. He needs a huge rebound to achieve anything close to his original ceiling but the tools are there to be a big leaguer of some stripe one day.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 40. Power: 55. Speed: 50. Fielding: 55. Arm: 60.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Very High
  
  Track Record: There was plenty of surprise around the industry when Watson, who entered the year as one of the top-ranked players available, tumbled all the way to the Marlins at the 16th overall pick. He was as tooled-up as any player on the board and had performed well, so Miami was happy to snatch him up and sign him for $4,540,790. His first full season as a pro was rough and was plagued by both high amounts of swing and miss and an incident that led to a month long demotion from Low-A.
  
  Scouting Report: Watson is still as talented as anyone in the system, but he needs a lot of work to turn those skills into production. His bat speed is electric and he makes plenty of impact on contact--his average exit velocity was 87.5 mph--but he still struck out 35% of the time at Low-A. Evaluators will see bright spots in spurts and the Marlins' player-development staff believes he's done a good job taking the lessons from his coaching staff but sometimes gets too impatient when they don't provide immediate results and starts trying to do too much too soon. More than anything, he needs to be more selective to let his natural fits shine. He chased a 36% rate and swung and missed in the zone at a 26% rate. He will likely move off of shortstop, though not immediately. Watson has the quick feet and strong arm to play an excellent second base, but he has to clean up his consistency and stay more focused. He's an above-average runner now but might slow down a tick as he ages.
  
  The Future: Watson will move to High-A Beloit in 2023. He needs a huge rebound to achieve anything close to his original ceiling but the tools are there to be a big leaguer of some stripe one day.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 40. Power: 55. Speed: 50. Fielding: 55. Arm: 60.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  
  Midseason Update: The first half of Watson&#39s first full season as a pro has not been good by any measure. He&#39s struggled mightily to make contact, with a strikeout rate that has hovered near 40% for most of the season. He&#39s got bat speed and plenty of raw power, but his issues with swing and miss has not allowed him to get to it often. The thickness in his lower half and erratic throwing arm likely means he will move off of shortstop in the long-term. Perhaps the biggest concerns of all revolve around his makeup. Scouts note he tends to get particularly agitated when ball-strike calls do not go his way. To that end, he was ejected from a game on July 1 for making a gesture with his bat at an umpire who had ruled a checked-swing strike on him earlier in the at-bat. He did not play for the rest of the series. Watson still has talent, but his stock has dropped considerably this year.
  
  Track Record: Watson used the summer circuit to cement his status as one of the top prospects in the country—he ranked No. 6 on the Baseball America 500 and third among prep shortstops behind Jordan Lawlar and Marcelo Mayer—and then watched as he took a curious tumble on draft night. He settled at No. 16 with the Marlins, who signed him away from his North Carolina State commitment for $4,540,790. Watson had a successful but short debut in the Florida Complex League before his season was cut short by a grade 2 hamstring strain. He got back on the field at the team&#39s development camp in October, when he was part of a group of the very best prospects in the system.
  
  Scouting Report: Watson&#39s prodigious bat speed is his biggest calling card. He uses an extremely strong lower half to help him whip the bat through the zone to produce all-fields juice without a lot of big, wasted movement while still showing the barrel malleability needed to hit for plenty of average as well. He also proved himself as an amateur against some of the best pitching in the class. He showed well against mid-90s fastballs and displayed the strike zone discipline to confidently take borderline pitches while maintaining a sense of calm at the plate in a variety of situations. There are a few minor kinks to be worked out as he develops. Specifically, the team&#39s hitting department identified a small hitch in his load that can cause his timing to get out of whack and leave him off-balance during his swing. He&#39s so strong, however, and has such a sense of barrel awareness that he can often overcome the issue and make decent contact. Defensively, there&#39s more of a question mark. Watson has the speed and the athleticism to stick at shortstop, but he needs to improve his footwork at the position. When his feet get out of sync his arm slot can also be affected, which leads to erratic throws. Watson also needs to increase his focus on defense as a whole. Evaluators have seen him make plenty of highlight-reel plays with his range and arm, but there have also been clunkers on routine plays. He&#39s got plenty of speed, too, as shown by the 6.5-second 60-yard dash he ran during East Coast Pro over the summer. If he can&#39t stick at shortstop, his speed would fit in center field or his offense could allow him to settle in as a middle-infield masher.
  
  The Future: Watson was invited to the Marlins&#39 fall development camp after the season and was one of the most impressive players on hand. He continued opening eyes at the plate, in the field and on the bases. Watson will get his first full test as a pro at Low-A Jupiter, where he&#39ll work on honing his defense to the point where he can remain at shortstop in the long run. If he shores up a few things on defense, the Marlins believe they have the makings of a true five-tool talent.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 40. Power: 55. Run: 60. Field: 50. Arm: 55.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Watson used the summer showcase circuit to cement his status as one of the top prospects in the country but took a curious tumble on draft night. The Marlins stopped his slide at No. 16 and signed him away from his North Carolina State commitment for $4,540,790. Watson had a successful but short debut in the Florida Complex League before his season was cut short by a hamstring strain. He got back on the field at the team’s development camp in October.
  
  Scouting Report: Watson’s prodigious bat speed is his biggest asset. He uses an extremely strong lower half to whip his bat through the zone and produce all-fields power without a lot of wasted movement. He does so while maintaining the barrel malleability to hit for plenty of average as well. Watson shows well against mid-90s fastballs and displays the strike zone discipline to confidently take borderline pitches. There are a few minor kinks to be worked out, such as a small hitch in his load that affects his timing and balance, but he’s so strong and has such barrel awareness that he can still be a plus hitter with above-average power. Watson has the speed and the athleticism to stick at shortstop, but he needs to improve his footwork. He is a plus runner and makes plenty of highlight-reel plays with his range and above-average arm strength, but he also commits clunkers on routine plays and needs to improve his focus on defense.
  
  The Future: Watson will get his first full-season test in 2022 at Low-A Jupiter. If he shores his defense, he can be a true five-tool talent.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Watson was one of the standout performers over the summer showcase circuit and immediately put himself in first-round territory after a standout showing at East Coast Pro, where he ran a 6.5 60-yard-dash and looked like one of the best hitters at the event. Watson isn't the most physical player you'll see, listed at 5-foot-9, 178 pounds, but there are scouts in the industry who believe his combination of athleticism, tools and defensive profile give him the most upside in the class. Watson has outstanding bat speed and plenty of strength in his swing, with a tendency to take massive hacks and try to hit for power. Despite that approach, he has shown a smooth, lefthanded swing and an ability to manipulate his barrel, with impressive at-bats against some of the best pitchers in the class over the summer. Against mid-90s fastballs and some of the best breaking balls the prep class has to offer, Watson seemed perfectly comfortable within his at-bats, spitting on pitches out of the zone, drawing walks when he needed to and driving pitches in his hitting zone when the opportunity arose. That approach and his physical tools should allow him to project as an above-average hitter with solid or better power. Watson is a tremendous athlete who has turned in 70-grade run times at various events and should be at least a plus runner consistently. Defensively, he has all the tools to stick at shortstop, with quick-twitch actions, solid glove work and 60-grade arm strength. There have been some scouts who think he might fit best at second base or perhaps in center field in the long run thanks to his speed and athleticism, but there's no tool he's missing that he needs to be an above-average defensive shortstop.