Royals Acquire Top Prospect Drew Waters from Braves

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Kansas City Royals have acquired top outfield prospect Drew Waters and two additional prospects from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for the 35th overall selection in Sunday’s MLB Draft. The pick carries a 2.2 million slot value.

Atlanta and Kansas City are finalizing a trade that will send center-field prospect Drew Waters, right-handed pitching prospect Andrew Hoffmann and a third minor leaguer to the Royals for the 35th pick in Sunday's draft, which has a $2.2 million slot value, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 11, 2022

Drafted 41st overall by the Braves in the 2017 draft, Waters was buried on Atlanta’s depth chart, which includes superstar Ronald Acuna Jr., rising rookie Michael Harris II, and veterans Adam Duvall, Marcell Ozuna, and Eddie Rosario.

Waters has split time this season between High-A Rome and Triple-A Gwinnett. Through 52 games, the 23-year-old has slashed .253/.311/.411 with six home runs, 18 RBI, 31 runs scored, and five stolen bases. While those numbers leave much to be desired, Waters’s potential fits well with a Royals team that’s building for the future and which could have several outfield vacancies with Andrew Benintendi, Michael A. Taylor, and Whit Merrifield all viable trade candidates.

FanDuel Sportsbook has the Royals at -142 on the moneyline for Monday’s matchup with the Detroit Tigers.