Aaron Watson Reveals Incredible Last-Second Draft Day Story With Reds

On Friday, we had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the Reds' 2025 second-round draft pick, Aaron Watson.

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Watson is a right-handed pitcher out of Trinity Christian Academy. He was committed to the University of Florida, but ultimately agreed to sign with the Reds for $2.75 million.

“He’s a big kid, good projection to him,” Reds scouting director Joe Katuska said. “6 foot 5, 6 foot 6. Up to 96 MPH with a really good sinker. It’s a sinker/slider/change up profile. Really good projection. We had a chance to scout him all spring and really like the upside there.”

In this exclusive one-on-one interview, Reds pitching prospect Aaron Watson discussed several key topics, including:

• His experience being drafted by the Reds
• What draft day was really like
• His goals for the 2026 season
• His transition from high school to professional baseball
• What he’s focused on improving right now
• His first impressions of the Reds organization
• What Reds fans can expect from him in the future

When asked about his draft day experience, Watson said it was nerve-racking, but awesome. An interesting nugget that Watson shared was that he had a deal with another team setup, but the Reds swooped in with 20 seconds left on the clock.

"I actually didn't know I was going to get picked by the Reds until about 20 seconds left on the clock. I had one pick with another team kind of setup and then my agent called me back and said 'hey, the Reds are going to take you here' and I was like alright, lets do it."

You can watch the full interview below:

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