KRIS WATTS
7/15/84; '06 16th; Santa Clara Univ.
L/R; 6-1, 200
| Level |
BA |
OBP |
SA |
AB |
2B |
3B |
HR |
BB |
K |
SB |
CS |
| 2005 NCAA |
.306 |
.406 |
.446 |
186 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
26 |
35 |
2 |
1 |
| 2006
NCAA |
.332 |
.411 |
.545 |
211 |
18 |
0 |
9 |
29 |
25 |
4 |
2 |
| 2006 A- |
.200 |
.281 |
.225 |
120 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
26 |
0 |
1 |
| 2007
A |
.261 |
.326 |
.433 |
307 |
25 |
2 |
8 |
27 |
54 |
0 |
1 |
| 2008
AA |
.160 |
.236 |
.180 |
50 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
| 2008
A+ |
.285 |
.378 |
.420 |
207 |
16 |
0 |
4 |
30 |
25 |
0 |
4 |
| 2009 A+ |
.291 |
.405 |
.432 |
340 |
21 |
3 |
7 |
55 |
51 |
2 |
0 |
Watts attended Ohlone College before he went to Santa Clara. The Pirates generally select a college catcher somewhere around this point in the draft, although the previous ones have been good-field, no-hit types. Baseball America described Watts as "decent" defensively, but he started showing some pop with the bat in 2006. Beyond drawing a few walks he didn't hit at Williamsport, and didn't show any power at all. He adjusted better at Hickory, though, which isn't unusual with college hitters who have to adapt to wood bats. He finished the season hot, with ten hits, seven for extra bases, in his last twenty ABs. He did not have a platoon split. Despite the good showing at Hickory, he opened 2008 as the backup to Steve Lerud at Lynchburg. The reason for this no doubt has to do with his defense, which isn't good. He's not mobile behind the plate and doesn't block pitches well, and his arm is not strong. He's still intriguing because he's a LH hitting catcher with some power and good strike zone judgment. He played little at Lynchburg until June; in fact, he saw more time as an injury fill-in at Altoona. Once Lerud was promoted, however, Watts became the Hillcats' starting catcher and caught fire, posting an OPS of 1.107 in July. He then slumped in August. He struggled against LHPs, although the sample size is small.
With Lerud at Altoona, Watts returned to Lynchburg in 2009. He was the starter until mid-season, when the Pirates picked up Eric Fryer in a trade. After that, Watts was primarily a DH and didn't play every day. It'd be hard to blame him for getting frustrated, as he finished third in the league in batting and first in OBP. He had only a small platoon split and more walks than Ks. His defense improved, as he cut down on passed balls and threw out 31% of base stealers, as opposed to 23% in 2008. Watts will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in the off-season and it's clear the Pirates won't be adding him to the 40-man roster. He probably won't get selected. If not, it'd be nice to see him get a shot at AA next year.
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