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Braves' Waters stays hot with four-hit night

No. 64 overall prospect triples twice, falls home run shy of cycle
Drew Waters ranks third in the Southern League in batting and fourth in slugging and OPS. (Brian McLeod/MiLB.com)
June 1, 2019

Drew Waters can't stop hitting.The fifth-ranked Braves prospect produced at the plate again on Saturday night, going 4-for-5 with a pair of triples, an RBI and two runs scored as Double-A Mississippi defeated Pensacola, 8-4, at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Drew Waters can't stop hitting.
The fifth-ranked Braves prospect produced at the plate again on Saturday night, going 4-for-5 with a pair of triples, an RBI and two runs scored as Double-A Mississippi defeated Pensacola, 8-4, at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Waters started his big night with a bang, tripling to right-center field off Jeff Ames in the first inning. He scored two pitches later as Tyler Neslony lifted a sacrifice fly to left.
A double to right-center in the fourth and a single to center in the fifth made Waters 3-for-3. Needing a homer for the cycle, MLB.com's No. 64 overall prospect tripled into the left field corner in the seventh, driving in top Braves prospect Cristian Pache to complete his second four-hit game of the season.
Gameday box score
"I try to do the same thing over and over again every day," Waters told MiLB.com in May. "Have the same routine, come in and do the same things. I work out first, and then I go hit, and then I go do defensive stuff. I just look at it from the standpoint of this is working for me so I'm not changing anything."
A second-round pick in last year's Draft, Waters leads the Southern League with 68 hits,17 doubles and six triples. He's batting .313 with 18 RBIs and 34 runs scored and has hit safely in nine straight games.
Waters is motivated after the franchise leapfrogged him to Double-A, instead of having him begin the season at Class A Advanced Florida, where he played the final 30 games last year.
"I look at it from a standpoint of they're trying to challenge me," Waters told MiLB.com in May. "I've always loved challenges."

Riley Unroe went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, while Pache chipped in a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Alejandro Salazar delivered a two-run double.
Braves No. 11 prospect Kyle Muller (4-1) recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts over seven innings for the win, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks.
Second-ranked Twins prospectAlex Kirilloff was 3-for-3 with a homer, double, two RBIs and a run scored for Pensacola.

Brian Stultz is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @brianjstultz.