Drew Waters is proving that the KC Royals were right to keep him in MLB

Just days ago the Kansas City Royals found themselves in a bit of conundrum. Mark Canha was set to be activated from the 10-day IL, but that meant the Royals would have to make room for him on the active roster.

When Canha was placed on the IL initially, it was Drew Waters who took his place on the active roster. And nobody would have really batted an eye if Kansas City ended up sending Waters right back down to Omaha upon Canha's return. After all, he was only hitting .174 with a .391 OPS through his first seven games up to that point.

Instead though, the Royals chose to send MJ Melendez down to Triple-A in order for him to work through his immense struggles at the plate. And since that decision was made, Waters has done nothing by look like a whole new hitter, one that is certainly deserving of the Royals faith in him and a spot on this roster.

Drew Waters is proving the Royals were right to keep him in MLB

Waters didn't necessarily hit the ground running when Canha returned to the active roster. That being said, he did manage to be more productive right off the bat after surviving the chopping block, as in Saturday's loss to the Detroit Tigers, he didn't record a hit, but did get on a base twice with a pair of walks.

He'd really made his mark though in the Royals' two most recent games, starting in Sunday afternoon's victory over the Tigers. The Royals snapped their ugly six-game loosing streak in an extra innings victory at Comerica Park and Waters played a big part in that. He'd single in a run in the second inning to give the Royals a two-run lead, and then in the 10th, he scored the eventual winning run off a Bobby Witt Jr. sac-fly.

And Waters carried that momentum through the off-day on Monday into Tuesday night's walk-off win against the Colorado Rockies, where he had himself a monster game. The 26-year-old outfielder finished the extra-innings contest just a double shy of hitting for the cycle after going 3-for-4. His solo shot in the sixth inning broke the scoreless deadlock and then his triple in the eighth saw him subsequently come around to score to make it a 2-0 lead, both of which were crucial to the hectic winning effort.

Waters has been a breath of fresh air of late for this Royals offense that's starting to show some signs of life, but it still has a long way to go from being nearly as productive as they should be for a team with postseason aspirations. Waters is now slashing .273/.314/.455, immediately making him one of the more productive pieces in this lineup.

And from a more specific point of view, he provides some immense stability in a struggling outfield that's in need of any sort of positive production right now. Their outfield unit sat dead last in MLB in wRC+ (45) to start the season entering play this evening, while both their AVG (.184) and OPS (.504) also pulled up the rear.

The baseball season is long and will undoubtedly have it's ebbs and flows, but at the moment Waters is doing everything right and rewarding the Royals brass for their immediate faith in him to deliver. This could go a long way in ensuring that he remains on this roster when another roster decision inevitably looms down the road.