Last season, I was fascinated with Drew Waters and how he would perform when the Kansas City Royals called him back up to the big-league club. It seemed to me that Waters would never get a better chance to establish himself in the majors than with the 2025 Royals. The outfielders the Royals started the season with last year were terrible, and there was no team in baseball that could have used a top outfield prospect to step up and finally realize his potential more than Kansas City. Waters had his moments,
particularly after he was first called up, but his overall numbers were poor. The Royals designated him for assignment after Spring Training this year, and he has since cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A. It’s still possible for the outfielder to figure it out and turn himself into a viable major-league player, but it’s extremely unlikely to happen at this point in his career.
The situation that Royals infielder Nick Loftin finds himself in this year reminds me of where Waters was last year. They aren’t completely equivalent, as Waters started in the minors but had a more direct path to a starting job when he arrived in Kansas City. Loftin will start the season on the Opening Day roster, but he will begin the year in a bench role.
Loftin will also be under pressure to produce early in the season if he wants to keep his roster spot. Michael Massey is starting the season on the IL with a calf strain, but he is likely to snag one of the bench roles once he’s healthy and available. Up to this point in their careers, Massey has been given more opportunity than Loftin and, before last season, had clearly been the better player. Massey had a dreadful year at the plate in 2025 and has battled injuries throughout his career, which leaves his place on the team more up in the air than it has been in recent seasons.
Massey’s injuries and poor hitting last season open the door for Loftin to grab a spot on the team. Massey looked very comfortable in the outfield last year and is presumably going to be a better defender than Loftin. Loftin, however, has the potential to be a valuable hitter and force the Royals to keep him on the roster.
The Royals have needed more hitters who get on base to set up and complement hitters like Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino. The team is in a good position with its core options. Having one of the best players in baseball certainly helps, but it needs a more complete lineup this season to reach its goals. Based on his minor-league track record, Loftin could be a perfect fit. The infielder has shown impressive on-base ability in Omaha, posting a .409 OBP in 2024 and a .447 OBP in 2025. Loftin can clearly get on base at a high level in Triple-A, but he has yet to translate that ability to the MLB level. He’s accumulated 427 plate appearances over the last three years for Kansas City but has posted just a .294 OBP.
Loftin has flashed some of the skills in the majors that have helped him be an on-base machine in the minors. He has posted well above-average chase and whiff rates, which has led to a very low strikeout rate. The 27-year-old has dealt with both poor BABIP luck and too much weak contact, which has made him a career 28% below league-average hitter. Even for a bench role, that’s not enough offensive punch and far below what he has shown he can be with the Storm Chasers. If he can get on base at even a league-average rate, there will be a spot for him on the roster.
The positions where Loftin has the most major-league experience – second base and left field – are also among the least settled spots in the Royals lineup. Isaac Collins is the first option in left field, but it remains to be seen if he can repeat his offensive performance from last year. Jonathan India is starting at second base, but he had a disappointing season at the plate last year and is not the strongest defender. He’s in the final year of his contract, and we’ve seen the Royals move on early from players in that situation if they struggle.
Loftin started at second base in the final game of the series against the Atlanta Braves and went 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. He looked fine defensively, but unless the injury bug strikes again, he’s going to have to look like more than just fine to keep a roster spot. That’s not exactly fair to Loftin. He will likely have to perform well in a small sample size, where variance can determine a large portion of the outcome. Not many players, however, get a chance to stick on a roster in four consecutive seasons, and Loftin will have every opportunity to prove himself.
