> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.crawfordboxreport.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Astros Hire Guardians' Conner Watson as Director of Hitting - URL: https://www.crawfordboxreport.com/astros-hire-conner-watson-director-of-hitting/ - Published: 2026-10-25T21:01:17.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T21:01:17.000Z - Description: The Astros are hiring Conner Watson, the Guardians' assistant director of hitting development and a former Driveline hitting lead, as director of hitting, The Athletic's Chandler Rome reports. It's Houston's second development hire in under a week. - Author: Crawford Box Report - Tags: News The Astros have added another development-side voice to their front office. Houston is hiring Conner Watson as its new director of hitting, The Athletic's Chandler Rome [reported at 3:40 p.m. CT Sunday](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2114457125879480330?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), citing a source. [MLB Trade Rumors](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/astros-hire-connor-watson-as-director-of-hitting.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) passed along Rome's report a few minutes later ([MLBTR on X](https://x.com/mlbtraderumors/status/2114458711456407802?ref=crawfordboxreport.com)). Watson spent the past two seasons as the Cleveland Guardians' assistant director of hitting development, Rome wrote. Before that, he worked at Driveline Baseball. ## Who is Conner Watson? Cleveland announced the hire in November 2024 as part of a shakeup of its player development leadership. In [the club's release](https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles/osterer-promoted-by-guardians?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), the Guardians credited his "innovative approach to hitting mechanics and player engagement developed during his three-year tenure as the Hitting Lead at Driveline Arizona." He was still listed as assistant director of hitting development in Cleveland's [2026 player development staff alignment](https://www.mlb.com/press-release/2026-player-development-staff-alignment?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). His road to that job wasn't a typical one. Watson is a 2010 graduate of Millard North High School in Omaha, and he was cut from his high school baseball team, the [Omaha World-Herald reported in 2023](https://spotonnebraska.com/ne-sports/1453956/millard-north-grad-conner-watson-helping.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). At the time, the paper described him as the lead hitting instructor at Driveline's Arizona facility. He has also written for Driveline's blog, including [a 2021 case study](https://drivelinebaseball.com/blogs/blog/this-college-hitter-took-a-gap-year-to-work-at-a-miami-nightclub?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) on a college hitter's bat speed and contact-quality gains during a summer of training. ## Not a coaching-staff job Like Spencer Medick, this isn't a uniformed spot on the major league staff. "Watson and Medick will oversee the entire organizational philosophy and infrastructure of their respective areas," Rome [wrote](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2114457421657625021?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). Asked who the new hires report to, Rome [replied](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2114459736657780808?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) that everyone ultimately reports to the GM, but that these jobs, in most cases, report directly to a farm director, an assistant GM, or both. It's Houston's second development-side front office hire in under a week. On Oct. 20, Rome [reported](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2112647918243152107?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) that the Astros were hiring Medick, the Yankees' Triple-A pitching coach last season, as director of pitching. The New York Daily News' Gary Phillips [confirmed that hire](https://x.com/GaryHPhillips/status/2112655609581428803?ref=crawfordboxreport.com). Like Watson, Medick is a Driveline alum. ## Why it matters **Our take:** The Astros still don't have a general manager. Jim Crane fired Dana Brown in August, and MLB.com's Brian McTaggart [has reported](https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-general-manager-candidates?ref=crawfordboxreport.com) that Houston will hire a GM before turning to a replacement for manager Joe Espada. Even so, the club isn't waiting to fill its pitching and hitting development jobs. Two Driveline-trained hires in less than a week is a strong hint about how Houston plans to develop players, no matter who ends up running baseball operations. For a team that just watched its season end in a Wild Card sweep, an organization-wide plan for building hitters could matter as much as anything the new GM does this winter. ## Around the MLB - **The World Series heads to Tampa Bay.** The Brewers lead the Rays 2-0, and Game 3 is Monday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. CT at Tropicana Field on FOX. Milwaukee is two wins from its first championship. ([MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/brewers-rays-world-series-game-3-starting-lineups-and-pitching-matchup?ref=crawfordboxreport.com)) *Sources: [Chandler Rome on X (Watson)](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2114457125879480330?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [(role)](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2114457421657625021?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [(reporting)](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2114459736657780808?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [(Medick)](https://x.com/Chandler%5FRome/status/2112647918243152107?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [MLB Trade Rumors](https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/astros-hire-connor-watson-as-director-of-hitting.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [Guardians release (via Canadian Baseball Network, 2024)](https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles/osterer-promoted-by-guardians?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [Guardians 2026 staff alignment](https://www.mlb.com/press-release/2026-player-development-staff-alignment?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [Omaha World-Herald (2023)](https://spotonnebraska.com/ne-sports/1453956/millard-north-grad-conner-watson-helping.html?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [Driveline Baseball](https://drivelinebaseball.com/blogs/blog/this-college-hitter-took-a-gap-year-to-work-at-a-miami-nightclub?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [Gary Phillips on X](https://x.com/GaryHPhillips/status/2112655609581428803?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [MLB.com (GM search)](https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-general-manager-candidates?ref=crawfordboxreport.com), [MLB.com (World Series Game 3)](https://www.mlb.com/news/brewers-rays-world-series-game-3-starting-lineups-and-pitching-matchup?ref=crawfordboxreport.com).* Subscribe free at crawfordboxreport.com.