Former Top Prospect Hits For Cycle with Kansas City Royals' Triple-A Affiliate

Drew Waters, who was once a Top-30 prospect for the Atlanta Braves, had himself a day with the Omaha Storm Chasers.
Kansas City Royals right fielder Drew Waters (6) hits a RBI double against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning at Kauffman Stadium in 2024.
Kansas City Royals right fielder Drew Waters (6) hits a RBI double against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning at Kauffman Stadium in 2024. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Congratulations are in order for Kansas City Royals' minor leaguer Drew Waters, who hit for the cycle as a member of the Omaha Storm Chasers on Wednesday.

The Storm Chasers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Royals. It is the first cycle of the minor league season.

Waters was ranked as the No. 26 prospect in baseball back in 2020 as a member of the Atlanta Braves. The Royals acquired him just before the trade deadline in 2022. Still just 26 years old, Waters has spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the Royals. He's a .229 big-league hitter with 13 homers and 16 stolen bases. A solid runner, he's also produced a .306 on-base percentage.

In parts of eight minor league seasons, Waters is a .283 lifetime hitter and owns 59 home runs. Waters is on the 40-man roster, which means that he's got a solid chance of getting called up should the Royals have an injury or issue. Kyle Isbel, MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe are the three outfielders currently on the major league roster.

Kansas City is coming off a year in which it got to the American League Division Series. After losing 106 games in 2023, the Royals finished second in the American League Central. They boast one of the best young pitchers in baseball in Cole Ragans and one of the game's best players in Bobby Witt Jr.

The Royals are playing the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday and will resume play on Friday against the Orioles.

The Storm Chasers will play the Louisville Bats again on Thursday.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.