Top prospect Waters turns heads at plate

Outfield prospect Drew Waters doubled home two runs in the Braves’ four-run sixth inning in Friday’s 4-0 win over the Twins in North Port, Florida.

Waters, 22, is positioned to become the Braves’ No. 1 prospect when outfielder Cristian Pache and starter Ian Anderson graduate later this season. His own MLB debut isn’t too far away.

“He’s maturing, he’s growing up,” manager Brian Snitker said. “I think, talking to him, he took advantage of the alternate site last year. He’s another one that it’s a shame we didn’t have a minor-league season. These young guys need to continue to play. He advanced to Triple-a at a young age the year before, and had the whole season jerked out from under him. I think it’ll be good for him to get back on the pace of playing again and continuing to improve.” Other notes from Friday:

■ Nate Jones, who’s competing for a bullpen spot, tossed his second perfect inning of the spring. Jones, 35, needs a successful spring to leapfrog others for a relief role. So far, so good.

■ Will Smith also pitched his second perfect inning of spring, which included two strikeouts. Smith was playing catch-up all last season after missing summer camp and the start of the season with COVID-19, so he’s been happy to prepare on a normal schedule.

■ Max Fried was set to start Friday, but he was potentially exposed to COVID-19 and is sidelined for a few days. The Braves said they aren’t concerned at this time. “There’s nothing really to report,” Snitker said. “Just go through the protocols. It’s a day-today thing. I don’t foresee this being a really long thing. We’re just taking this a day at a time.”

■ Charlie Morton makes his first start today against the Rays, his former team. He’s opposing former teammate and Tampa Bay ace Tyler Glasnow.

CURTIS COMPTON/CURTIS.COMPTON@AJC.COM Outfielder Drew Waters hits a two-run double to give the Braves a 4-0 lead over the Twins in their spring training matchup Friday.