Astros Hire Conner Watson As Director Of Hitting

The Astros have hired Conner Watson as their new director of hitting, The Athletic’s Chandler Rome reports.  Watson heads to Houston after spending the last two seasons as the Guardians’ assistant director of hitting development.

The new hire continues an offseason of change for an Astros team that is looking for both a new GM and manager.  In this case, Watson fills a role that has been open since August, when former director of hitting Dan Hennigan departed for a coaching job on the Wake Forest staff.

Spencer Medick was hired as Houston’s director of pitching earlier this week, so the Astros now have two division heads in place overseeing the entire organization’s pitching and hitting approaches.  It is perhaps a little unusual that Medick and Watson were hired in advance of a general manager taking the wheel of baseball operations, though it perhaps tracks given how Astros owner Jim Crane is known for his active role in front office decisions.

Before joining the Guardians, Watson spent three years as a lead instructor at Driveline’s Arizona branch.  He’ll now look to shake up and perhaps modernize the Astros’ hitting practices at both the major and minor league levels.  While many of Houston’s coaches and manager Joe Espada won’t be returning in 2027, hitting coach Victor Rodriguez was expected to be retained, though this could potentially change depending on Watson’s plans.