Andrew David Waters nicknamed 'B.A.' (born December 30, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder 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) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Amateur career

Waters graduated from Etowah High School in Woodstock, Georgia. 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 Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine playe ...

and the Metro Atlanta High School Player of the Year. He committed to play college baseball at the University of Georgia for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

Professional career

Atlanta Braves organization

The Atlanta Braves selected Waters in the second round, with the 41st overall selection, of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. 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 RBIs, and seven walks, he was promoted to the Danville Braves of the Rookie Advanced

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a 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 wood bats, its season runs from ...

, where he finished the season. In 36 games for Danville, he slashed .255/.331/.383 with two home runs and 14 RBIs. In 2018, he began with the Rome Braves of the Class A South Atlantic League, with whom he earned All-Star honors, and was promoted to the Florida Fire Frogs of the Class A-Advanced

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 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases. In 2019, he began with the Mississippi Braves of the Class AA Southern League and was named an All-Star. In August, he was promoted to the Gwinnett Stripers of the Class AAA

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. Over 134 games with the two teams, Waters batted .309/.360/.459 with seven home runs, 52 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases. He was named the

Southern League Most Valuable Player The Southern League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Southern League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. League broadcasters, Minor Lea ...

. After the season, he was selected for the United States national baseball team in the

2019 WBSC Premier 12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship w ...

201905024-mississippi-braves-drew-waters

Waters did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He was added to Atlanta's 60-man player pool and trained with other players in the pool in Gwinnett County, Georgia over the course of 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 ...

at Coors Field. Over 103 games played for Gwinnett, Waters slashed .240/.329/.381 with 11 home runs, 37 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases. On November 18, 2021, the Braves selected Waters' contract and added him to the 40-man roster. Waters began the 2022 season on the injured list 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 Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the Kansas City Royals system. Players CJ Alexander Charles Joseph Wesley Alexander (born July 17, 1996) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Kansas City Royals ...

, and

Andrew Hoffmann Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the Kansas City Royals system. Players CJ Alexander Charles Joseph Wesley Alexander (born July 17, 1996) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Kansas City Royals ...

to the

in exchange for the 35th overall pick in the

2022 Major League Baseball draft The 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player 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 ...

. The Royals optioned Waters to the Omaha Storm Chasers. 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.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Drew 1998 births Living people Baseball players from Atlanta 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 People from Woodstock, Georgia Rome Braves players United States national baseball team players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players