It’s no secret the Braves have lost a lot of talent in their farm system, mostly to graduation, but also via some trades. Drew Waters was their top prospect before being flipped to the Royals along with Andrew Hoffman and CJ Alexander for the 35th pick in Sunday’s MLB Draft. However, Baseball America isn’t nearly as high on Waters as some, ranking him 16th in the Royals farm system, with Hoffman coming in at 13th:
Andrew Hoffman comes in at #13 for the Royals, Drew Waters at #16. https://t.co/7ThrOQfi27
— Royals Review (@royalsreview) July 13, 2022
I actually tend to agree with this. I’m on record saying Hoffman could be a bigger loss for the Braves than Waters. Hoffman was having a fantastic season before the trade, and it hurt to see him moved in this deal. Waters checks in at 8th on Kansas City’s top prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Fangraphs is somewhere in the middle of these two, with Waters coming in at 10th and Hoffman at 15th. Waters is off to a good start in AAA Omaha:
Drew Waters’ first hit in a “Royals” uniform is an opposite field triple. His approach needs work, but the tools speak for themselves. Kid can flat out run and he’s got easy raw power. pic.twitter.com/fzAquG4a6E
— Royals Farm Report (@RoyalsFarm) July 13, 2022
The Royals received two good prospects in Drew Waters and Andrew Hoffman, but there was no path for Waters to play in Atlanta with Michael Harris II’s emergence. The Braves needed to up their bonus pool so they can get more talented players in a badly depleted farm system. I think the trade will work out in the long run; I trust Alex Anthopoulos and company to make the most out of the pick.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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