Waters running wild with latest opportunity for Royals

This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. Kansas City-based MLB.com reporter/producer Jackson Stone wrote this section of the newsletter this week.

KANSAS CITY -- Drew Waters hasn’t had much consistency yet in his baseball career.

Originally a second-round pick by the Braves in 2017, he rose to be the club’s No. 1 prospect and No. 26 in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. He spent parts of 2019, ‘21 and ‘22 with Triple-A Gwinnett -- a time period that included the canceled 2020 Minor League season due to COVID-19 -- but never reached Atlanta despite earning Southern League (Double-A) MVP honors in ‘19.

And then he was traded to the Royals for a Competitive Balance Round A pick in 2022.

After just over a month with Triple-A Omaha, Waters made his Major League debut with Kansas City on Aug. 22, 2022.

“It’s like going into a party where you know nobody,” Waters said about his debut. “It’s not exactly the most comfortable thing, but when you’ve been around the guys in this clubhouse for a while and they’re all your friends, it definitely makes the transition a lot more comfortable.”

Waters began the 2023 season injured, but then played just 98 games in the Majors the rest of the season, without consistent success, hitting .228 with eight homers and 107 strikeouts in 302 at-bats.

In 2024, he played just seven games with the Royals between two stints in June and July.

Now 26 years old in 2025, Waters fought for a roster spot in the spring but didn’t break camp with the Royals. It wasn’t until an injury to Mark Canha that the Royals recalled Waters once again on April 9.

Since then, he’s run with the opportunity.

“I wouldn’t say there was more added pressure [this time], necessarily,” Waters said. “I’ve been in the big leagues. I’ve been down. I’ve been back. I’ve been down. I’ve made that cycle a lot, so, I don’t know, I think this time around I’m more mature than I was two years ago. Or even last year. I just think I looked at it as -- well, you can either go out and play well and stay, or you can go back to what you’ve been doing. When you kind of look at it that black and white, it can take some pressure off of you.”

It’s a mentality that he had to adapt last season after spending more time in Omaha than he envisioned for himself. Not only did it impact how he thought about his entire career, but it changed how he approached his game.

“I would say last year it was a lot tougher,” Waters said. “I would say probably midway through last year I kind of just bought into [the mindset of] regardless of where I’m at, I’m going to play 100% and try to do something in a game that could be impactful, regardless if that’s in Triple-A or the big leagues or even [Single]-A. I’m going to take the same approach to the game, regardless of what level I’m at.”

Armed with that new mindset, Waters has taken off. He’s hitting .280 with an .801 OPS this season. But ever since Canha returned from the IL and the Royals optioned MJ Melendez on April 19, signaling their intention to give Waters an everyday opportunity, the switch-hitting outfielder has hit .370 with five RBIs, two walks and a 1.137 OPS in his past eight games.

This past week, Waters crushed a big home run in the sixth inning on Tuesday against the Rockies. He scored the go-ahead run on Friday against the Astros after a leadoff double in the fifth. And that’s in addition to his impressive leaping grab at the left-field wall during the doubleheader on Thursday.

“Drew is a five-tool player,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He can play defense, run, throw, hit, hit for power. Those things are not always going to be on display every night, but the things that he can control -- his effort level, his defense, his baserunning -- those are the things that he’s helping to contribute with even when the at-bats weren’t as good.

“Now that he’s contributing with the bat, that’s an added bonus.”

Quatraro said Waters’ increased maturity was noticeable at the start of the offseason, with the increased playing time now giving Waters the opportunity to display what he’s been working on in the Minors.

For Waters, it’s about “playing against the pitcher and less of me playing against myself.”

And that helped Waters play a key role in the Royals’ six-game winning streak that ended Sunday. How far he takes this new opportunity remains to be seen.

“He’s just locked in, man,” Jonathan India said. “He works very hard pregame and I’m very happy for him because he’s a guy that needs this, and he wants it really bad. You can tell before games, you can see it in his eyes. He wants to play well and help the team win.”