The Royals have recalled outfield prospect Drew Waters from Triple-A Omaha and optioned outfielder Nate Eaton to Triple-A in his place, per a team announcement. It’ll be the Major League debut for Waters, whom Kansas City acquired from Atlanta last month (alongside two other minor leaguers) in a trade that sent a Competitive Balance draft selection back to the Braves.
Waters, 23, was a second-round pick back in 2017 and long rated as one of the more promising all-around prospects in the game. The switch-hitter was a consensus top-100 prospect each year from 2019-21, but at the time of the trade sending him to Kansas City, his stock was down a fair bit. Waters had mashed his way through the Double-A level but seen his bat stall out in Triple-A, where he’d slashed .246/.324/.383 in just shy of 800 total plate appearances across parts of three seasons. Of even greater concern was the 30.7% strikeout rate he’d posted in those three Triple-A stints.
The Royals, however, remained enamored of Waters’ skill set and clearly held him in high regard.