CLEVELAND -- Kahlil Watson’s bat has done a lot of talking since the Guardians promoted him from Triple-A Columbus on June 17. But we can’t discount the role the 23-year-old’s glove played in his emergence with Cleveland.
Watson (the Guardians’ No. 12 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) reached the Majors as an outfielder, where he had no experience before 2024. He caught on to playing there swiftly, which helped him continue to pave his path to the big leagues, and he is now a fixture in Cleveland's outfield mix.
“He said he'd do whatever he can to help the Major League team,” Guardians assistant general manager James Harris said recently. “He's taken to it. He's getting better and better every day and his arm strength is real. The athleticism is real.”
Watson is a shortstop by trade whom the Guardians acquired from the Marlins in the Aug. 1, 2023 trade for Josh Bell. He exclusively played short dating to his childhood, but did not have a dedicated infield coach to guide him growing up.
“Once I got to the higher level, it just caught up to me,” Watson said of the fundamentals of playing shortstop. “I was just overthinking at short and just overthinking groundballs in general."
The Guardians broached Watson after the 2023 season about also playing outfield. If a guy can play multiple positions, he has more avenues to contribute in the Majors. Watson embarked upon that path in 2024 with Double-A Akron. He played second base (38 appearances), center field (26), left (19), shortstop (six) and third (two).
Watson acknowledged he wasn’t fully comfortable switching back and forth between outfield and infield. So, in 2025, the team converted him to outfield full time. He split his appearances between center (45), left and right (21 apiece).
“Once I stayed in the outfield, I was ready to go out there and be ready and just run down balls,” said Watson, who entered Monday hitting .290 (9-for-31) through 10 big league games. “It's still the same thing, the instincts at short and the instincts being in the outfield.”
Even so, there has been a learning curve for Watson. Getting comfortable in the outfield has been a matter of reps, including in batting practice, to understand how to read balls off the bat. There has also been a physical adjustment; Watson must keep his body prepared to handle running a lot every day.
Watson earned his first big league callup after the Guardians lost Chase DeLauter (right rib cage fracture) and Angel Martínez (non-displaced left foot fracture) to the injured list this month. Watson quickly flashed in his MLB debut on June 18 against the Brewers by making a diving catch in right field on a line drive hit by Joey Ortiz.
DeLauter returned from the IL on Sunday, but he will DH a lot of time in the near future. Martínez is expected to miss several more weeks. Watson will have some runway in the outfield, where manager Stephen Vogt said he’s seen Watson evolve “incredibly."
“He made a play in Spring Training [last year] where he kind of misplayed a ball,” Vogt said. “After that, he came up to [outfield and baserunning coach] JT Maguire and myself and said ‘That'll never happen again.’
"Just the awareness of, ‘I'm going to learn from this, and I'm going to get better’ [stood out]. Obviously, the athleticism and the speed are incredible tools. He's just become a very, very good defensive outfielder.”
It can't hurt that Watson has four-time AL Gold Glove Award winner Steven Kwan in the clubhouse to learn from. Harris noted during the Guardians’ trip to Houston he observed Kwan get on the team bus with Watson right behind him.
“That's exactly what you want young guys to do,” Harris said. “That's exactly what you want your veterans to do, is show them the right way to do things.”
Watson went 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts in his first four big league games. Over his next six, he went 9-for-19 (.474) with two doubles, one home run and eight RBIs. He logged a hit in six straight contests and an RBI in five straight. Kwan (2022) was the most recent Cleveland rookie to achieve the latter.
Watson is not a finished product. But he has come a long way with his glove and has impressed thus far with his bat.
“A couple years ago [in the outfield] I was kind of like, ‘OK, let's see how this ball is,’ just going back on balls, coming in on balls,” Watson said. “I’ve got the reps now, just getting comfortable. Now, I’m comfortable up here at this level. I can’t complain.”