Cleveland Guardians prospect Kahlil Watson was once viewed as the club’s future shortstop, but that was until the club out of necessity moved him to the outfield. The move was natural and Watson flourished, making the move permanent for the athletic specimen.

Watson’s bat was the big thing that most has been raving about since he was called up from Triple-A Columbus on June 17. But, according to Guardians assistant general manager James Harris it’s much more to Watson than his bat. Watson’s willingness to  make the position switch is a huge reason why he’s in the majors, and what team brass loves about him is willingness to do whatever the club needs.

Watson Does Whatever Team Needs

Watson is a shortstop by trade whom the Guardians acquired from the Marlins in the Aug. 1, 2023 trade for Josh Bell. The aforementioned Harris recently raved about Watson telling reporters this.

“He said he’d do whatever he can to help the Major League team. He’s taken to it. He’s getting better and better every day, and his arm strength is real. The athleticism is real.”

A shortstop by trade, Watson says he never really considered playing another position until the Guardians mentioned a position change in 2023.

“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.”

Watson Happy With Full Time Switch To Outfield

Watson embarked upon a path of playing multiple positions in 2024 with Double-A Akron. He played second base (38 appearances), center field (26), left (19), shortstop (six) and third (two). And while he had plenty of success doing so, he also craved the opportunity to focus on one position.

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.”

Watson Excited To Continue Growth In The Outfield

Although he struggled at the plate in his first few games going (0-12) with eight strikeouts. He followed that up with a 9-for-19 (.474) stretch with two doubles, one home run and eight RBIs. He logged a hit in six straight contests and an RBI in five straight.

“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.”

While Watson is nowhere near a finished product the dynamic athletic specimen has shown some real growth with his glove, bat and his overall range.