Andrew David Waters (born December 30, 1998) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Amateur career

Waters graduated from Etowah High School in

Woodstock, Georgia Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 35,065 as of 2020 according to the US Census Bureau. Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is part of the Atlanta metropolitan a ...

. As a senior, he batted .516 with 15 home runs and 40 RBIs, leading Etowah to a Class 7A state championship title. After the season, he was named the Georgia

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

and the Metro Atlanta High School Player of the Year. He committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

. His brother Zach Waters played college baseball for East Tennessee State and the University of Georgia and is the Assistant Coach of the varsity baseball team for Etowah High School.

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

The

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

selected Waters in the second round, with the 41st overall selection, of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Braves for a $1.5 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, forgoing his commitment to Georgia. After signing, Waters made his professional debut with the rookie–level Gulf Coast League Braves. After batting .347/.448/.571 with two home runs, ten RBI, and seven walks, he was promoted to the Danville Braves of the

Rookie Advanced Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

, where he finished the season. In 36 games for Danville, he slashed .255/.331/.383 with two home runs and 14 RBI. In 2018, he began with the Rome Braves of the Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, with whom he earned All-Star honors, and was promoted to the

Florida Fire Frogs The Florida Fire Frogs were a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League from 2017 to 2020. They were located in North Port, Florida, and served as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Founded in 2017, the Fire Frogs ...

of the High–A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

on August 1. In 114 games between the two clubs, he slashed .293/.343/.476 with nine home runs, 39 RBI, and 23 stolen bases. In 2019, he began with the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

of the Double–A Southern League and was named an All-Star. In August, he was promoted to the

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

of the Triple–A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. Over 134 games with the two teams, Waters batted .309/.360/.459 with seven home runs, 52 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. He was named the Southern League Most Valuable Player. After the season, he was selected for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

in the 2019 WBSC Premier 12. WatersKCRoyals2023

Waters did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was added to Atlanta's 60-man player pool and trained with other players in the pool in Gwinnett during the summer. For the 2021 season, he was assigned to Gwinnett, now members of the Triple-A East. In June, Waters was selected to play in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995 Major League Baseball season, 1995, the park is located in Denver's LoDo, Lower Downtown neighborhood, ...

. Over 103 games played for Gwinnett, Waters slashed .240/.329/.381 with 11 home runs, 37 RBI, and 28 stolen bases. On November 18, 2021, the Braves added Waters to the 40-man roster. Waters began the 2022 season on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

for Gwinnett. He was activated in early May. Over 49 games with Gwinnett, he batted .246 with five home runs and 16 RBIs.

Kansas City Royals

On July 11, 2022, the Braves traded Waters, CJ Alexander, and Andrew Hoffmann to the

in exchange for the 35th overall pick in the

2022 Major League Baseball draft The 2022 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 17–19, 2022, in Los Angeles. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was based on the reverse order of the 2021 MLB season standin ...

, a competitive balance pick that Atlanta used on JR Ritchie. The Royals optioned Waters to the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

. Over 31 games with Omaha, he hit .295 with seven home runs, 17 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. On August 22, 2022, the Royals promoted Waters to the major leagues. He collected his first career hit on August 24, a single off of

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

starter Zac Gallen. On September 5, Waters hit his first career home run, a two–run shot off of

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

starter

Triston McKenzie Triston Andrew McKenzie (born August 2, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Guardians organization. He was drafted by Cleveland with the 42nd overall selection of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. He made his M ...

. In 32 games during his rookie campaign, he batted .240/.324/.479 with five home runs and 18 RBI. Waters played in 98 games for the Royals in 2023, hitting .229/.300/.378 with 8 home runs, 32 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. Waters was optioned to Triple-A Omaha to begin the 2024 season. He was with the Royals for two stretches, playing 3 games in mid-June, then 4 games in July. He batted .188 with one double and two walks in 19 plate appearances. With Omaha, he hit .290 with 13 home runs and 7 stolen bases in 109 games. Waters was optioned to Triple-A Omaha to begin the 2025 season. While playing for the Storm Chasers, Waters hit his first professional cycle and was named

Player of the Week for March 31 through April 6.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Drew 1998 births Living people Baseball players from Atlanta Baseball players from Cherokee County, Georgia Danville Braves players Florida Fire Frogs players Gulf Coast Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball outfielders Mississippi Braves players Omaha Storm Chasers players Sportspeople from Woodstock, Georgia Rome Braves players United States national baseball team players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players