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.
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
Watson pinch hit for David Fry in the eighth inning, though the former proceeded to strike out swinging. However, Watson came up big when it mattered most, with his single in the 10th inning bringing home Steven Kwan for the game-winning run. Watson was called up by the Guardians in mid-June and went 0-for-10 with eight strikeouts across his first four major-league games. However, since June 22, he has gone 13-for-36 (.361) with two steals, one home run and nine RBI. Watson should continue to see reps in the outfield for as long as Angel Martinez (foot) is on the 10-day injured list.
Read More News
Batting Stats
Loading Batting Stats...
2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2026 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Batting Game Log...
Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
4
2
3
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
 
 
+95%
OPS vs RHP
2026
 
 
+95%
OPS vs RHP
2025
No Stats
2024
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024vs Left .333 15 1 0 1 0 .133 .133 .200
Since 2024vs Right .648 51 3 1 8 7 .250 .294 .354
2026vs Left .333 15 1 0 1 0 .133 .133 .200
2026vs Right .648 51 3 1 8 7 .250 .294 .354
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
 
 
+12%
OPS at Home
2026
 
 
+12%
OPS at Home
2025
No Stats
2024
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024Home .604 37 2 0 3 5 .250 .270 .333
Since 2024Away .538 29 2 1 6 2 .185 .241 .296
2026Home .604 37 2 0 3 5 .250 .270 .333
2026Away .538 29 2 1 6 2 .185 .241 .296
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
0.13
 
BB Rate
4.5%
 
K Rate
36.4%
 
BABIP
.342
 
ISO
.095
 
AVG
.222
 
OBP
.258
 
SLG
.317
 
OPS
.575
 
wOBA
.256
 
Exit Velocity
0.0 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
25.6%
 
Barrels/PA
0.0%
 
Expected BA
.000
 
Expected SLG
.000
 
Sprint Speed
23.6 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
36.8%
 
Line Drive %
21.1%
 
Fly Ball %
42.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Our full prospect rankings are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Advanced Batting Stats
Loading Advanced Batting Stats...
Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
Loading Games Played by Position...
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Batted Ball Stats
Loading Batted Ball Stats...
Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
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
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
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
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
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Sparks offense in win
OFCleveland Guardians
June 25, 2026
Watson went 2-for-4 with three RBI in Wednesday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the White Sox.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Crushes first MLB home run
OFCleveland Guardians
June 23, 2026
Watson went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the White Sox.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Hitting bench against lefty
OFCleveland Guardians
June 22, 2026
Watson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the White Sox.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.