Kahlil Watson sits against southpaw Friday night

Kwan will get a breather with tough left-hander Shane McClanahan on the hill for the Rays. David Fry will mat left field in his place and will bat fifth on Friday night at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay.

With Jose Ramirez back, the Guardians will likely need to use both Gabriel Arias and Daniel Schneemann in the outfield more than the infield, so Watson was the one who got sent down. The 23-year-old hit .239/.264/.341 in 91 plate appearances with nine steals.

Bazzana has been removed from Cleveland’s leadoff spot after hitting .198/.280/.362 with four homers and four steals over his last 30 games. The 23-year-old rookie has been struggling recently, hitting just .238 (5-for-30) over his last seven games. It’ll be David Fry getting a look atop the lineup against Twins rookie lefty Connor Prielipp in this one. It could be a one-game decision, but fantasy managers should prepare for Bazzana to hit lower in the Guardians lineup against lefty starters moving forward.

Watson finds himself batting in the premium lineup spot for the second straight contest. The 23-year-old former first-round pick got off to a frosty start, but he’s now hitting .246 (14-for-57) with one homer and six steals in 17 games since arriving in the majors last month.

In a game that featured a nearly two-hour-long rain delay and an extra frame to decide the winner, Watson finally sent fans home happy in the bottom of the 10th inning when he slapped an RBI single up the middle to drive in Steven Kwan for the game-winning run. Watson came on as a pinch hitter for David Fry in the bottom of the eighth inning and is slashing a respectable .271/.300/.396 over his first 15 big league games.

Watson was recalled from Triple-A on June 17 and has started all but two games since then. The playing time primarily stems from Angel Martínez’s placement on the injured list. Watson was a first-round selection by the Marlins in the 2021 draft, but his prospect shine faded once he got closer to the majors. He’s enjoyed some nice moments since being called up, but his strikeout rate remains over 30%, and he’s drawn just one walk so far.

Watson opened the scoring in the ballgame as he plated Kyle Manzardo with an RBI double off of Luis Castillo in the third inning. That would wind up being the extent of the Guardians’ offense in the contest. The 23-year-old outfielder is now off to a 6-for-25 (.240) start to his big league career with one homer, seven RBI and one stolen base over 26 plate appearances in his first eight games.

Watson’s go-ahead hit was just an 88-mph grounder to the left side, but the White Sox infield was in with the runner at third and no one had a shot at it. Watson entered the series against the White Sox 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts as a major leaguer, but he’s 5-for-9 with a homer and six RBI the last three days. He’s probably just a stopgap for an injury-riddled Guardians lineup, but he’ll keep starting against righties for now.

Even though Fry has an .841 OPS in his 40 at-bats against righties this year, the Guardians had Daniel Schneeman bat for him in the seventh today. But Schneeman did provide a defensive upgrade, too, what with Fry starting in right field today. With the Guardians so banged up, Fry has now started five straight games, including two against righties. Prior to this, he’d started three of 16 games and hadn’t started against a righty since May 24.

The Guardians maxed out their three platoon spots against LHP Shane Drohan, leaving Watson to handle right field over fellow prospect Petey Halpin. Watson probably won’t get a huge runway with Chase DeLauter due back soon, but he will get a chance to show his talents and the 12 homers and 15 stolen bases in 56 games at Triple-A Columbus point to someone who could have fantasy value if he hits.