Royals Trade No. 35 Pick in Draft to Braves for Prospects

Kansas City makes a trade less than a week before the 2022 MLB Draft kicks off.

Less than a week before the beginning of the 2022 MLB Draft, the Kansas City Royals are reminding everyone that trade season is heating up and will soon be in full swing. Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, the club is sending pick No. 35 to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for prospects. Here's more from Passan on why the Royals were able to move a pick:

The 35th overall pick was tradable because it is a competitive-balance-round pick, given annually to small-market and low-revenue teams. Detroit dealt its competitive-balance pick, for example, to the Rays in the package with Isaac Paredes for Austin Meadows earlier this year.

-

Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) on Monday, July 11 at 9:59 a.m. CST

In return for their Competitive Balance Round A pick, the Royals will be getting outfield prospect Drew Waters, right-handed pitching prospect Andrew Hoffmann and third base prospect CJ Alexander. 

Waters, a second-round pick back in 2017 and the No. 1 prospect in the Braves organization, was once a top-100 prospect in all of baseball. In 48 games with the Braves' Triple-A affiliate this season, the 23-year-old is slashing .246/.302/.390 with an 83 wRC+. He hasn't made his big-league debut yet and remains a prospect with plenty of tools and the ability to become an everyday center fielder if he cashes in on his potential.

Hoffmann, who was selected in the 12th round in last year's draft, has posted a 2.36 ERA in High-A this season. The righty has made 15 starts on the year and has gone 80 innings with an eye-popping 10.13 K/9 and a 7-2 win-loss record. He's the No. 23 prospect in Atlanta's system and is touted by MLB.com as having "more floor than ceiling" but also being capable of throwing plenty of strikes and having perhaps a bit more room to grow into his 6-foot-5 frame.

Alexander, not ranked among the top 30 players in Atlanta's system, will turn 26 on the first day of this year's draft. The 2018 20th-round selection has yet to reach higher than Double-A thus far in his minor league career, but he's currently enjoying his best season since 2018. In 68 games at Double-A this year, Alexander is slashing .258/.294/.465 with a 93 wRC+ and a 21.8% strikeout rate. 

The Royals have made the trade official, also announcing the subsequent placement of all three prospects. Waters is now on the 40-man roster and will be heading to Triple-A Omaha, and both Hoffmann and Alexander will go to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

This story is being updated.