Player of the Week: Drew Waters

An offensive powerhouse

When Bobby Witt Jr. was the Royals Review player of the week last year, some commenters were unimpressed. “Isn’t he player of the week every week,” some asked, and to be fair Witt is clearly the best player on the team and more often than not he’s going to be the best player in any given week. So should I give the award to others who may not be as good in a given week but who exceeded our expectations?

In this case, I don’t have to worry, because the guy who was the best player was also the one who exceeded expectations in a delightful manner: this week’s player of the week is none other than Drew Waters.

It’s been no secret that the outfield this year has been suspect. MJ Melendez has been sent down to Triple-A, Hunter Renfroe’s bat is a cause for concern, and Kyle Isbel has been unplayable against lefties. But in the last week—after a bit of a rough start—Waters is establishing himself as a potential everyday option.

Over the last week, Drew Waters has posted a .364/.440/.636 line, and is one of only two Royals (the other being Freddy Fermin) with a home run. Waters’ 208 wRC+ and 0.4 fWAR over that time period lead the team. Waters had a career game in the opening contest against the Colorado Rockies this week, going 3-4 with a single, a triple, and a home run—a mere double short of the cycle.

During that time, Waters has also showed some defensive versatility, playing 24 innings in right field, 26 innings in center field, and 49 innings in right field. And with his switch hitting, Waters is poised to make the most of this opportunity and cement himself as a key outfielder in the rotation.

So congrats to Drew, who started in Triple-A but got the call to the big leagues and is doing something about it.