Braves Trade Drew Waters To Royals For Draft Pick

The Royals have made their second deal of the previous week, buying former prime outfield prospect Drew Waters, minor league righty Andrew Hoffmann and minor league nook infielder CJ Alexander from the Braves in alternate for his or her Aggressive Stability draft choose (No. 35 general). Each groups have introduced the commerce.

The 15 choices within the two Aggressive Stability rounds — Spherical A ranges from Nos.33-39, Spherical B from picks 67-74 — are the one picks eligible to be traded every year’s draft and may solely be traded as soon as (that means the Braves can’t subsequently flip the choose to a different workforce). The No. 35 choose that Atlanta is receiving comes with a slot worth of $2,202,100, all of which might be added to the Braves’ league-allotted bonus pool of $8,022,200. That’ll bump the Braves from the Nineteenth-largest draft pool to the Tenth-largest (barring any further trades).

The added choose and monetary may will give the Braves some additional technique of replenishing the farm after surrendering 4 prospects to amass Matt Olson this offseason (to say nothing of the handful of trades made at every of the previous few deadlines). Between these offers, low draft choices the previous few years (as a result of robust regular-season performances) and the worldwide free-agent penalties incurred by the previous entrance workplace regime, the once-vaunted Braves farm system has taken successful.

Waters, 23, ranked among the many sport’s top-100 prospects from 2019-21 however has seen his inventory fall precipitously in current seasons as he’s struggled towards Triple-A pitching. Waters is at present in his third season with Triple-A Gwinnett, however his .246/.305/.393 batting line isn’t an enchancment over the pedestrian output he’s recorded there in each 2019 and 2021. General, in 788 plate appearances on the Triple-A degree, Waters is a .246/.324/.383 hitter. These struggles are mirrored in the truth that the previous second-round choose, who was as soon as seen as a key constructing block for the Braves group, is now as an alternative a part of a three-player bundle that may internet Atlanta a draft choose that’s simply six locations greater than Waters was chosen a half-decade in the past.

With Ronald Acuna Jr. and Michael Harris II set to carry down two-thirds of the Atlanta outfield for the long run — plus veterans Eddie Rosario, Marcell Ozuna and Guillermo Heredia all signed or managed past the present season, there wasn’t a lot rapid room for Waters to make an affect on the large league outfield anyhow. Braves followers could be disheartened when serious about what Waters may’ve fetched in a commerce had he been moved a yr or two in the past, however the workforce did handle to internet some worth for the previous Futures Recreation participant.

From the Royals’ vantage level, the long-term outfield image is way much less sure, so there’s good cause to take an opportunity on getting Waters again on observe. Kansas Metropolis has been working to place a profitable product on the sector for the previous couple seasons, and whereas the outcomes haven’t been there but, Waters offers extra rapid potential to assist the workforce than whomever would have been tabbed with that No. 35 general choose. Waters posted an enormous .319/.366/.481 batting line in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting again in 2019, when he was one of many youngest gamers within the league. Baseball America and MLB.com each ranked him throughout the sport’s prime 40 general prospects in consecutive offseasons.

With Andrew Benintendi all however sure to be traded and middle fielder Michael A. Taylor a candidate to go as nicely — he’s signed affordably by means of 2023 — the Royals will quickly have some outfield vacancies. If veteran Whit Merrifield is lastly moved at this yr’s deadline, that’d signify one other subtraction from the outfield corps.

The organizational hope has been that 25-year-old Kyle Isbel can declare a long-term spot within the outfield combine, however he’s at present hitting simply .216/.248/.328. Twenty-six-year-old Edward Olivares has carried out nicely in a way more restricted position. Typically talking, although, the Royals are skinny on outfield prospects. School pitching has been a spotlight of their drafts throughout their current rebuild, and whereas they’ve standout younger choices at shortstop/third base (Bobby Witt Jr.), catcher (MJ Melendez) and first base/designated hitter (Vinnie Pasquantino, Nick Pratto), there’s no ballyhooed outfielder pulling down the door to the Majors for the Royals in the meanwhile. Waters, clearly, is one thing of a challenge, however he’ll give the Royals a direct choice to hitch that younger core if he can certainly profit from a change of surroundings.

Additionally heading to the Royals are Hoffmann, a 22-year-old righty chosen within the twelfth spherical of final summer season’s draft, and Alexander, a 25-year-old who’s proven energy, pace and regarding on-base struggles whereas taking part in towards youthful competitors in Double-A.

Hoffmann ranked sixteenth amongst Braves prospects at FanGraphs and twenty third at MLB.com, the place scouting experiences on the 6’5″ righty peg him as a high-probability back-of-the-rotation piece — a reasonably notable step ahead for a participant only a yr faraway from being chosen so late within the draft. Thus far in 2022, Hoffmann has posted terrific numbers in Class-A, making 15 begins with a 2.36 ERA, 28.4% strikeout charge, 6.6% stroll charge and 46.3% ground-ball charge. Hoffmann’s fastball sits within the 91-93 mph vary — below-average by at present’s requirements — and he depends closely on above-average command to assist mitigate the dearth of an influence major providing.

Alexander, in the meantime, isn’t as extremely regarded — as one would anticipate for a participant who’s in his third journey by means of Double-A even though he’ll flip 26 this month. A Twentieth-round choose in 2018, Alexander has dramatically decreased his strikeout charge in 2022, because it’s at present at 21.8% after sitting at 32% in 2019-21. He’s slugged 15 homers and gone 13-for-15 in stolen base makes an attempt by means of 289 plate appearances this yr, however Alexander has additionally walked at a meager 4.8% charge. General, his .258/.294/.465 isn’t notably thrilling, however he provides Kansas Metropolis one more lefty nook infield bat, as he’s able to taking part in first base as nicely.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the commerce (Twitter links).