Rookie Watson's 'slow heartbeat' on display with 1st career walk-off hit
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CLEVELAND -- Kahlil Watson hasn’t been a big leaguer for too long, but he’s earning a good reputation for how he carries himself on the field.
Regardless of the moment, Watson is the same guy.
“It’s incredible,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Just watch him in the dugout too. Good at-bat, bad at-bat, he looks the exact same. Slow heartbeat. No moment, no scene seems to be too much for him. It's been really fun to see.”
That was on full display on Friday, when Watson hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning of the Guardians' 4-3 win over the White Sox at Progressive Field. It marked the 23-year-old’s first career walk-off plate appearance.
Watson (who’s ranked as the Guardians’ No. 12 prospect by MLB Pipeline) hit a single up the middle off lefty Sean Newcomb, driving in Steven Kwan. Watson’s knock gave Cleveland (47-42) a one-game lead over Chicago (45-42) for first place in the AL Central standings.
“It's special,” Watson said. “All the guys, they played a big role tonight. … It's just a special moment, the first walk-off of my career. It's unbelievable. I really want to relive that again, which I will, but it was special tonight.”
Friday turned into a bullpen game for both sides after the nights of starting pitchers Gavin Williams and Anthony Kay ended prematurely following a one-hour and 55-minute rain delay. Watson was not in the Guardians’ starting lineup because Kay throws left-handed.
Watson pinch-hit for the right-handed-hitting David Fry in the eighth inning, but he struck out against righty Trevor Richards. He didn’t have to wait too long for his next opportunity.
Watson was due up second in the bottom of the 10th, after lefty Erik Sabrowski worked a scoreless top half of the inning. Travis Bazzana grounded a single through the left side of the infield, but Kwan got the stop sign at third.
Kwan didn’t have to hold up too long. Watson’s walk-off single came on a first-pitch sinker from Newcomb.
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“I’m just being confident in myself, going up there and trusting my work,” Watson said.
Watson has good reason to be confident. He has been on quite a roll to start his big league career.
Cleveland promoted Watson from Triple-A Columbus on June 17. He went 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts over his first four big league games. In 11 games since, he has hit .361 (13-for-36) with three doubles, one home run and nine RBIs with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Watson has also come up big twice against the White Sox, also hitting a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning of Cleveland’s 4-3 win on June 24.
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Watson is only 15 games into his career, but he continues to impress the Guardians with an even-keeled temperament perhaps beyond his experience.
“It’s really hard,” Kwan said of Watson’s ability to not get overwhelmed by the moment. “It's really easy to tell yourself stories of what this could mean, what this could mean for the future. But it seems like he has a really good presence of just being where his feet are, not letting it get too big, and he prepares really well, too.
“I think he takes that preparation and turns that into confidence when moving forward."