Nolan Watson (baseball)

Nolan Michael Watson is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

At the time of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, Watson was 5–1 for Lawrence North High School, with an 0.63 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 44+2⁄3 innings. Prior to the draft, he was ranked 56th by Baseball America's annual rankings of prospects. He committed to play college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores.[1] After his senior year, the Kansas City Royals selected Watson with the 33rd overall pick in the draft. He signed for $1,825,200.[2]

After signing, Watson was assigned to the Burlington Royals, going 0–3 with a 4.91 ERA in 11 starts.[3] Watson spent 2016 with the Lexington Legends where he posted a 3–11 record, a 7.57 ERA, and a 1.75 WHIP over 24 starts. In 2017, he returned to Lexington, appearing in 15 games (13 starts) where he pitched to a 1–10 record with a 6.78 ERA,[4] and in 2018, he played for both Lexington and the Wilmington Blue Rocks, pitching to a combined 10–10 record with a 5.24 ERA in 24 total starts between both teams.[5][6] He began 2019 with Wilmington, but pitched in only one game due to injury. He underwent surgery in May 2019.[7] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.