The Kansas City Royals reinstated outfield prospect Drew Waters (back, oblique) from the 10-day injured list on Friday and optioned infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. Waters is starting in center field and batting ninth on Friday against Washington Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin in his 2023 debut. The 24-year-old is the team's No. 6 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and he hit .327 with two home runs and two steals in 13 minor-league rehab games for Omaha before being activated. In his first 32 big-league games in 2022, Waters hit .240 (23-for-96) with six doubles, a triple, five home runs and 18 RBI. KC figures to give him regular playing time in center field moving forward, so he's worth a waiver-wire pickup in deep-mixed leagues if you need more outfield help.

Kansas City Royals outfielder Drew Waters (oblique) will reportedly be out six weeks with a left oblique strain, per a tweet from MLB.com's Anne Rogers on Tuesday. Acquired last July via a trade with Atlanta, Waters hit .240 with a .324 on-base percentage and five home runs in 109 plate appearances in the majors for Kansas City last season. The former second-round pick in 2017 also batted .269 with a .345 on-base percentage, 13 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 324 minor-league plate appearances last season.

The Kansas City Royals recalled outfield prospect Drew Waters from Triple-A Omaha on Monday and optioned outfielder Nate Eaton in a corresponding move. Waters will make his major league debut on Monday and will start in right field and bat ninth against Chicago White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech. The 23-year-old is the Royals' No. 9 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and he was acquired from the Atlanta Braves in July. In 31 games for Omaha, he hit .295/.399/.541 with a .940 OPS, seven home runs, 17 RBI, 29 runs scored and 13 stolen bases. Waters is a switch-hitter with plenty of raw power, but he does have some swing and miss to his game, although he made strides to cut down on his strikeout rate the last two years. He should at least be in the short side of a platoon in the outfield in KC in his first taste of the big leagues.

Atlanta Braves outfield prospect Drew Waters has heated up with 10 hits over his last 35 at-bats for Triple-A Gwinnett. Although he hasn't shown much power in the span, he is hitting a respectable .288 with two home runs and seven RBI in the regular season for Gwinnett. The speedy outfielder is one of the Braves top prospects, but figures to be a better real-life prospect than fantasy prospect due to his lack of power. The 23-year-old offers plenty of speed on the base paths and is a plus defender, but is unlikely to make a significant impact in the fantasy community. Already on the 40-man roster, Waters has a chance to get a taste of the big leagues in 2022, but he is more of a wait-and-see prospect than one that managers will have to rush to the waiver wire to scoop up.