‘It got me here’: Drew Waters credits Kansas City Royals coaches ahead of MLB debut
Drew Waters entered the Kansas City Royals clubhouse in a green button-down shirt and jeans, and perhaps fittingly, the first greeting he received was from a fellow rookie.
“Bobby,” the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. said while introducing himself, reaching his arm out for a handshake.
The next few minutes had many more of those introductions. Waters hugged MJ Melendez, whom he’d played with growing up during summer ball. “Nice to meet you,” Waters said to reliever Scott Barlow as he continued circling the room.
Waters, a 23-year-old outfielder, is just the latest in a wave of rookies to make their MLB debuts for the Royals this year. He was scheduled to bat ninth and play right field in Monday’s afternoon makeup game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium.
In getting called up — outfielder Nate Eaton was optioned to Triple-A Omaha — Waters became the 13th Royal to make his MLB debut this season.
The promotion was both expected and a surprise. Waters said he was alerted two days earlier that he would get the call but had to keep it a secret. Then, at first, the Royals told him to be at the stadium at 2 p.m. Monday.
That changed in the morning when the team requested he get to the clubhouse immediately; Waters was going to be in Monday’s lineup.
“I think I like how it ended up turning out, because I didn’t have much time to think about what exactly is happening,” Waters said. “But this is obviously a dream come true, and I’m excited to put on the Royals colors.”
The Royals acquired Waters with two other prospects in a July 11 trade with the Atlanta Braves for the Royals’ competitive-balance round pick in this year’s MLB Draft.
What’s happened since appears to be another success story of the Royals’ hitting development department.
Waters, a former top prospect, hit .246 with a .697 OPS in 49 games for Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate Gwinnett.
The move to the Royals’ system produced immediate dividends. In 31 games for Triple-A Omaha, Waters hit .295 with a .940 OPS.
Waters credited Royals minor-league hitting coaches Drew Saylor, Brian Buchanan and Ryan Powers for helping his turn-around, calling the move to the organization “a fresh breath.”
“They did a really good job of trying to hear where I was at from an offensive side of things, and then also really helped me adapt to training the Royals way of hitting and what they believed in,” Waters said. “I feel like I kind of grasped the concept pretty quickly, and I started seeing results. Obviously, that’s what we want.”
Waters said one of his most significant changes was adopting a mindset of hunting pitches in the zone while looking for pitches where he could create damage. That thought process also helped him think less about the mechanical side of hitting while embracing more of the competitive aspect of the hitter vs. pitcher matchup.
“They just told me to trust them, so that’s really what I did, and I bought in,” Waters said. “It got me here, so I’m thankful for them, and I’m thankful for the Royals.”
Waters, known for his athleticism, could also impact the Royals’ outfield defense. Manager Mike Matheny said the plan would be to rotate him through the team’s spots in left, center and right.
“If I’m not getting hits, I want to take away hits,” Waters said. “I really like to go after pretty much everything I can out there and try to take away as many hits as I can — find a way to impact the game from some side of the ball, whether that’s offensively or defensively, that’s my goal in a game.”
Matheny said Waters had received outstanding defensive reviews from Royals special assistant Rusty Kuntz, previously the team’s longtime outfield defense instructor.
“Rusty has been an advocate from Day 1 about how well he handles himself in the outfield — some of the natural movements and instincts and talent,” Matheny said. “So (we’re) excited to get him here and put him into the mix.”
With Waters up, seven of the Royals’ 13 position players are rookies. Five started Monday’s game: Waters, Melendez, Witt, Vinnie Pasquantino and Michael Massey.
This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 10:23 AM with the headline "‘It got me here’: Drew Waters credits Kansas City Royals coaches ahead of MLB debut."
