SEVIERVILLE - Chattanooga Lookouts reliever Sean Watson appears to have the fastball and temperament to one day become a major league closer. But does he have the pinpoint control?

"I feel if I stay in the bullpen, I feel I have a good shot of being in the big leagues sometime next year," the former University of Tennessee pitcher said Friday night before the Lookouts beat the Tennessee Smokies, 8-6, at Smokies Park. "I feel comfortable in the bullpen. I feel pretty dominant."

The 22-year-old Miami, Fla., native, who was drafted in the second round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2006, has the velocity late-inning specialists require. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning Thursday and Friday with three strikeouts.

The biggest challenge is how a closer copes with disaster. Serving up a game-winning hit in the ninth inning after your teammates battle for three hours to reach the threshold of victory is disconcerting. He must be able to purge that nightmare and come back the next day and seal the deal.

"That's the unfortunate part of closing," Watson said. "The key is having a short-term memory and not let it bother you. You can't dwell on blowing the game."

Watson became a closer for the Vols but he was mostly a starter last season for Dayton and Sarasota, the Reds' Class A affiliates in the Midwest and Florida State Leagues.

He compiled a 9-6 record with a 3.49 earned-run average and averaged more than a strikeout per inning,

"They (Reds) just wanted me to get a lot of innings in, get a feel for all my pitches and get used to pro ball," he said.

The 6-foot-2 Watson, a sturdy 215 pounds, was 0-1 with 4.15 ERA and 10 saves at Sarasota before being promoted to Chattanooga on May 31.

"Sean is just getting to Double-A," said Chattanooga manager Mike Goff, who was the Seattle Mariners' first base coach last year. "He has the kind of stuff to pitch at the back end of the bullpen without a doubt.

"But having a good arm doesn't mean you're going to be successful in professional baseball. It's not like college where you have two or three guys in the middle of the lineup to worry about. You got eight guys to worry about."

Goff isn't certain if Watson will close for the Lookouts this season. That might be rushing him.

"Right now our main focus is to get him in a lot of different situations and get his feet wet," Goff said. "I know he closed at Sarasota. He'll be put in a lot of different roles early on to see where he is going to settle in and do the best."

Watson mixes a slider, knuckle curve and change-ups with his 95 mph fastball. That's more than enough pitches.

"The big thing for 'Watty' is to stay in the strike zone, work ahead in the count and get to his breaking ball," Goff said. "It's just a matter of him throwing quality pitches for strikes."

Goff spent the past 17 years in Seattle's organization and is relatively unfamiliar with Watson, who has made two mop-up appearances for the Lookouts. But he is familiar with the organization's reports.

"From what I understand his history has been to learn to minimize his pitch count and not take every hitter to three balls," he said.

Watson has averaged 4.9 walks per nine innings during his pro career. That's alarmingly high for any pitcher.

"The big thing about being a closer is being able to come in and throw strikes," Watson said. "Your worst enemy is walking guys. That number has hurt me. That's the main thing I have to work on."

Watson goes to his knuckle curve, if he is ahead in the count.

"It's an outstanding pitch," Goff said. "It's just a matter of finding the strike zone. There are a lot of guys who throw 93-94 down in A-ball. They never get out of A-ball because they can't command it."

There isn't a lot of movement on Watson's fastball.

"There is a little late jump to it at times which makes it seem faster than it is," Goff said. "He's got a good arm. He's a good kid and it's just a matter him getting the experience."

Smokies Fall: Rarely do fans jeer the home team at Smokies Park. Friday was one of those times.

Chattanooga's Sam LeCure (4-3) three-hit Tennessee for six innings and the Lookouts rode a 21-hit salvo to an 8-6 Southern League win before 4,815.

The Smokies (26-36) fell behind 7-0 after 4 1/2 innings bringing a smattering of boos. They received a Bronx cheer after scoring their first run.

Chris Valaika led Chattanooga's hit parade with five. Danny Dorn added four, including a pair of solo home runs. The Lookouts (32-30) battered starter Tanner Watson (1-2) for 13 hits and seven runs in four-plus innings.

Kyle Reynolds crushed a two-run homer for the Smokies.

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