Atlanta gets No. 35 pick from KC for top prospect, two others

The Braves acquired the 35th pick in this Sunday’s MLB Draft from the Royals on Monday for center fielder Drew Waters, RHP Andrew Hoffmann and infielder C.J. Alexander.

The pick is a Competitive Balance Round A pick, which is eligible to be traded. As MLB.com’s Jim Callis reported in April, the 35th pick holds a slot value of $2.2 million. The Braves, who also own the 20th overall pick, bumped their Draft pool money up to $10.2 million, the 10th-highest total.

Waters, Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was the Braves' second-round pick in 2017 and has spent parts of the past three seasons at Triple-A Gwinnett. The Southern League MVP in 2019, the switch-hitting Waters slashed .246/.305/.393 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 49 games with the Stripers this year.

Waters should immediately become one of the Royals’ top prospects; former No. 1 prospect Bobby Witt Jr.has already graduated from prospect status, while current No. 1 Vinnie Pasquantino is in the Majors.

Hoffmann -- a 12th-round pick in last year’s draft and Atlanta’s No. 23 prospect -- has made 15 starts this year for High-A Rome, going 7-2 with a 2.36 ERA across 80 innings. Alexander has spent the past two years with Double-A Mississippi, mashing 25 home runs across 152 games. While he’s primarily played third base throughout his career, he’s also made appearances at first base and in left field.

This is the second Competitive Balance pick to be traded this year. In April, the Tigers traded their Competitive Balance Round B pick (No. 72 overall) to the Rays as part of the Austin Meadows deal.