Kahlil Watson

Kahlil Watson

23-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Cleveland Guardians
2026 Fantasy Outlook
Once a high-upside shortstop in the Marlins system, Watson is now an outfielder on Cleveland's 40-man roster. The 2021 first-round pick split 2025 between Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .250/.346/.467 with 16 home runs, 17 steals, an 11.2 percent walk rate and a 27.7 percent strikeout rate in 102 games. He uses his plus speed better in the outfield than on the bases, and that defensive potential could buy him a multi-year run on the strong side of a platoon. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#361
ADP
Signed a one-year contract with the Guardians in March of 2026.
Taking seat Monday
OFCleveland Guardians
July 20, 2026
Watson is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Twins.
Analysis
Watson had started 10 of the last 11 contests, and the one he didn't start during that stretch was the second leg of a doubleheader. He'll get a breather for Monday's series opener while Chase DeLauter handles right field and Rhys Hoskins is deployed at designated hitter.
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Batting Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2026 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
4
5
6
1
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
1
1
1
1
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2024
 
 
+41%
OPS vs RHP
2026
 
 
+41%
OPS vs RHP
2025
No Stats
2024
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024vs Left .438 16 1 0 2 2 .188 .188 .250
Since 2024vs Right .617 73 4 1 9 7 .243 .274 .343
2026vs Left .438 16 1 0 2 2 .188 .188 .250
2026vs Right .617 73 4 1 9 7 .243 .274 .343
2025vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Minor League Splits View Minor League Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2024
 
 
+22%
OPS at Home
2026
 
 
+22%
OPS at Home
2025
No Stats
2024
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024Home .638 46 2 0 4 6 .267 .283 .356
Since 2024Away .525 43 3 1 7 3 .195 .233 .293
2026Home .638 46 2 0 4 6 .267 .283 .356
2026Away .525 43 3 1 7 3 .195 .233 .293
2025Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Kahlil Watson compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.09
 
BB Rate
3.4%
 
K Rate
36.0%
 
BABIP
.358
 
ISO
.093
 
AVG
.233
 
OBP
.258
 
SLG
.326
 
OPS
.584
 
wOBA
.258
 
Exit Velocity
0.0 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
29.6%
 
Barrels/PA
0.0%
 
Expected BA
.000
 
Expected SLG
.000
 
Sprint Speed
24.3 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
47.2%
 
Line Drive %
18.9%
 
Fly Ball %
34.0%
 
Prospect Rankings History
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Kahlil Watson See More
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Kahlil Watson See More
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
There were some makeup concerns with Watson pre-draft that led to him sliding to the Marlins with the No. 16 overall pick in 2021, and those issues showed up last season when he was suspended for pointing his bat like a gun at the first base umpire after he was ruled out on a check swing. Watson's season had peaks and valleys, as he hit .354 with five home runs in his first 15 games and had an .804 OPS in his final 24 games, with a .565 OPS and 38.0 K% in 49 games in between. He still has plus power and plus speed, but the strikeout issues loom large, and with a game as mental as baseball, it would be unwise to assume he'll handle adversity well in the upper levels.
The top of the 2021 draft was flush with high-end prep shortstops, and Watson's highlights and raw tools were arguably the most impressive of the bunch. However, he slipped further than expected to Miami at No. 16, where he received an over-slot $4.54 million bonus. At 5-foot-9, 178 pounds, he doesn't have the size traditionally associated with a power/speed shortstop, but that's exactly what he is. He performed well at the plate as a high-school senior and carried that success over after signing. The lefty hitter had more walks (eight) than strikeouts (seven) while hitting .394 with three doubles, two triples and four steals in nine games. Watson should maintain plus speed at least into his mid-20s, and his combination of bat speed and athleticism have elicited Jazz Chisholm comps, although he might already be more muscular than Chisholm. Watson likes hitting for power, and with that mindset will come some strikeouts, but he doesn't chase many pitches out of the zone. He has the highest fantasy ceiling of the hitters in this class.
More Fantasy News
Ending twin bill on bench
OFCleveland Guardians
July 18, 2026
Watson isn't in the lineup for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against Pittsburgh.
Analysis
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Threat on basepaths
OFCleveland Guardians
July 13, 2026
Watson went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Marlins.
Analysis
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Hits game-winning single Friday
OFCleveland Guardians
July 3, 2026
Watson went 1-for-2 with an RBI single during the Guardians' 4-3 extra-inning win over the White Sox on Friday.
Analysis
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Delivers with RISP
OFCleveland Guardians
June 28, 2026
Watson went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Mariners.
Analysis
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RBI streak reaches four games
OFCleveland Guardians
June 27, 2026
Watson went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Mariners.
Analysis
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