Where does Nate Eaton stand with the KC Royals?

Shortly before the 2022 All-Star Break, and less than four full seasons into his professional baseball career, unique circumstances forced Nate Eaton into the major leagues. Although he was punishing Triple-A pitchers with a .329 average and .388 OBP at Omaha at the time, whether the KC Royals would have promoted him absent those circumstances is debatable.

But an unusual problem required a quick fix, and Eaton was part of the solution — their vaccination status blocked several Royals from traveling to Toronto for a four-game series with the Blue Jays, and the club summoned Eaton and other minor leaguers to fill in.

Unfortunately, no stellar storybook breakout awaited rookie Eaton in Canada. Yes, he started and finished all four contests in center field, and even homered in his first major league game, but he managed only one other hit, a single, in 12 official at-bats.

Based as it was on so few trips to the plate, the disappointment of that performance is easily and properly dismissed as inconclusive. Being called up for such a temporary assignment simply didn't give Eaton enough time to prove himself.

Nate Eaton gets a second chance

His wait for another opportunity wasn't long, though, and he made much of his second trip to the big leagues. The Royals brought him back in early August and he hit .277 with a .340 OBP, four doubles, three triples, and 10 RBI, and stole 11 bases in 12 attempts across 40 down-the-stretch games. Considering the dearth of major talent facing the Royals going into the 2023 season, his future seemed bright.

But Eaton's star soon faded. Last season was a career low point for him; uncertainty now clouds his future. Whether he figures prominently in the Royals' future is questionable.

What happened?

Nate Eaton's unsightly 2023 big league season

Simply put, Eaton didn't hit. An excellent spring training performance — he slashed .324/.390/.514 in 18 Cactus League games — propelled him to a spot on KC's Opening Day roster, but he went 0-for-his-first-14 and didn't find a way to get on base during the first six games he played.

Sadly, things only got worse.

Eaton finally managed to scrape out a single in his seventh game but, after failing to reach base in his next five contests, the Royals sent him back to the minors in late April. A .304 average with a homer, three RBI, and three steals at Omaha, and the Royals' need to replace injured Kyle Isbel on the active roster, helped him get back to Kansas City in the first week of May, but Eaton's ugly battle with big league pitching continued — in 12 games, he hit safely only twice, drew a couple of walks, and was hit once. Within three weeks, he was justifiably back on the road to Omaha.

The Royals recalled him a couple of weeks later and used him primarily as a late-inning defensive replacement. He batted only once and was soon demoted again to Omaha.

Eaton's luster was gone. He had no extra-base hits and an awful .075/.125/.075 line to show for his second partial season in the majors. A miserable performance at the plate, to be sure; he was adequate defensively, but nothing could save him from the ugly and unshakeable plague of his own bat. The Royals designated him for assignment in early November, then outrighted him to Omaha a few days later.

What could lie ahead...