Aaron Watson Stats & Scouting Report

IP	17.2
ERA	3.06
WHIP	1.470
BB/9	2.6
SO/9	10.2

Full name Aaron Watson
Born 01/05/2007 in Jacksonville, FL
Profile Ht.: 6'5" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Trinity Christian
Drafted in the 2nd round (51st overall) by the Cincinnati Reds in 2025 (signed for $2,747,500).

View Draft Report

School: Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville Drafted/Committed: Florida
Age At Draft: 18.5

BA Grade: 55/Extreme

Watson is tall and projectable with starter traits and a clean, polished delivery. He has a great pitcher’s frame with sloped shoulders and tons of room to add strength in both his lower and upper halves. Watson throws with a smooth and loose arm action, has a standard three-quarters slot and finishes his delivery with great balance and little effort. He was a consistent performer during the spring with Trinity Christian Academy and had a high-profile start at USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational, where he threw a seven-inning complete game with 10 strikeouts. Watson has a four-pitch mix that’s led by a 90-94 mph fastball that has been up to 96. He throws both a four-seam and two-seam variation and complements the fastballs with a solid blend of secondaries. His loudest is a mid-80s slider that has turned into a consistent swing-and-miss pitch. It has an impressive power/movement combination for a prep and flashes plus. Watson has also thrown a slower curveball in the 77-81 mph range, but his slider should be his bread and butter. He throws a firm mid-to-upper-80s changeup that is useful versus lefthanded hitters but will need a touch more command. Watson is committed to Florida but fits as a polished, top-three-rounds talent.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 55/High

Adjusted Grade: 40

Track Record: Pro teams love to see how amateur players handle pressure in the lead-up to the draft. Watson consistently aced those tests. The Florida signee struck out 10 in a seven-inning complete game at the National High School Invitational. He then threw a perfect game in the Florida regional finals, and then followed it with a one-hit shutout in the state semifinals to get his team to the state finals. The Reds picked him 51st overall, signing him for $2,747,500.

Scouting Report: Teams looking for a flame-thrower to beat hitters at the top of the zone with a four-seamer weren’t going to be enamored by Watson. He’s best working down with a hard (93-95 mph) power sinker that already touches 97 and will likely add velocity as he further fills out. He also has shown feel for two distinct breaking balls. His mid-80s above-average slider misses bats and is a pitch he can rely on in almost every outing. His feel for his bigger, slower 77-81 mph curve isn’t as consistent, but when it’s on it’s an effective pitch as well. Like many teenage pitchers, his hard mid-80s changeup needs more development. Watson’s delivery is clean and he already has a pro starter’s frame with the shoulders and lower half to add another 20-30 pounds. He projects to have average or better control with no significant delivery flaws that need to be cleaned up.

The Future: Like many high school pitching prospects, Watson is embarking on what will likely be a lengthy adjustment to pro ball. He has the athleticism, body control and sinker-slider pairing to become a durable mid-rotation starter if everything comes together as the Reds and Watson hope.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50

Draft Prospects

School: Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville Drafted/Committed: Florida
Age At Draft: 18.5

BA Grade: 55/Extreme

Watson is tall and projectable with starter traits and a clean, polished delivery. He has a great pitcher’s frame with sloped shoulders and tons of room to add strength in both his lower and upper halves. Watson throws with a smooth and loose arm action, has a standard three-quarters slot and finishes his delivery with great balance and little effort. He was a consistent performer during the spring with Trinity Christian Academy and had a high-profile start at USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational, where he threw a seven-inning complete game with 10 strikeouts. Watson has a four-pitch mix that’s led by a 90-94 mph fastball that has been up to 96. He throws both a four-seam and two-seam variation and complements the fastballs with a solid blend of secondaries. His loudest is a mid-80s slider that has turned into a consistent swing-and-miss pitch. It has an impressive power/movement combination for a prep and flashes plus. Watson has also thrown a slower curveball in the 77-81 mph range, but his slider should be his bread and butter. He throws a firm mid-to-upper-80s changeup that is useful versus lefthanded hitters but will need a touch more command. Watson is committed to Florida but fits as a polished, top-three-rounds talent.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50.
School: Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville Committed: Virginia
Age At Draft: 18.5
Watson is a 6-foot-5, 205-pound righthander who employs a clean and fluid delivery that leads to solid command of a strong four-pitch mix. He pitches in the low 90s and has touched 96 mph with his fastball, which is a sinking pitch that features heavy running life and generates lots of weak grounders. Watson has shown solid feel to spot the fastball to both sides of the plate and he also throws a low-80s slider with hard and tight spin, a curveball in the upper 70s with 12-to-6 shape and a mid-80s changeup that lags behind his other three offerings.