Royals Get Much-Needed Pitching Depth in Trade With Braves

On Saturday night, during the Royals' loss to the Rockies (a rough season continues to get worse), Kansas City traded outfielder Lane Thomas and pitcher Bailey Falter (who's currently pitching in Omaha) to Atlanta in exchange for pitching prospects Lucas Braun and Carter Holton.

Neither Braun nor Holton needs to be added to the 40-man roster just yet, though Braun will be Rule 5-eligible this offseason.

Considering all the pitching injuries this year, the acquisition of these two pitchers from the Braves organization gives the Royals pitching depth a much-needed boost. And not just for the remainder of this season. Braun and Holton are long-term options who give the Royals depth beyond 2027, which they need, especially with top pitching prospect Kendry Chourio and David Shields probably a couple of years away from making their MLB debuts (at the earliest). 

So what did the Royals gain in Braun and Holton? Let's break down these newest pitchers in the Kansas City organization. 

Braun is the more MLB-Ready of the Pair.

If Royals fans are looking for a pitcher who could make his MLB debut this year, it is definitely Braun, who has recently pitched in Triple-A Gwinnett this season.

In 43.2 IP with the Stripers, the former Cal State Northridge product posted a 3.92 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 4.61 FIP, and 1.94 K/BB ratio. He started the season in Double-A and was more dominant, posting a 3.20 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.04 FIP, and 4.64 K/BB ratio. Overall, in 19 appearances and 94.1 IP between Double-A and Triple-A this year, he has a 3.53 ERA and 3.77 FIP.

When looking at his Statcast percentiles in Triple-A, he hasn't quite been a strikeout or swing-and-miss machine. However, he does a good job of throwing strikes, limiting walks, and generating a good amount of chase and weak contact. His profile looks very similar to Stephen Kolek, who was acquired by the Royals last year and was having a solid season until a recent injury. 

Back in Spring Training, the former 6th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft was catching the eyes of scouts, especially with his slider and cutter.  

When looking at his TJ Stuff+ summary from Triple-A, Braun's TJ Stuff+ metrics weren't eye-popping on any of his pitches, though his cutter, four-seamer, and slider have been his best pitches. That said, what makes Braun a productive starting pitcher is his six-pitch mix. That variety of pitches allows him to be successful, even without a premium pitch.

The cutter is really a solid pitch for Braun and could be key in his eventual transition to the Major Leagues. 

His primary pitch, which he throws 20.2% of the time, generated a 53.5% zone%, 45.8% chase%, 28.6% whiff%, and .274 xwOBACON. Those were all above-average marks. The only pitch that came close to that was his curve, which also had above-average marks in those four categories. However, the marks were only "slightly" above average in those categories compared to "well" above average, as was the case with the cutter. 

In Double-A Columbus, Braun was producing more strikeouts, so there is some upside for him to get to those levels with minor adjustments. His K% was 25.1%, and his K-BB% was 19.7%. He also set a Columbus single-game record with 12 strikeouts back in May, shortly before his promotion to Gwinnett. 

The No. 8 prospect in the Braves' system before the trade, Braun is easily a Top-10 prospect in the Royals system. He probably rates around 9 or 10 in the Royals' system, bumping Carson Roccaforte or Asbel Gonzalez out of that group.

He will start his Royals career in Triple-A Omaha. That said, he could see an MLB call-up in a matter of weeks, especially if Kansas City engages in more trades by Monday's August 3rd deadline. 

Holton is Talented, but Has Struggled With Injuries

Holton was a second-round pick by the Braves in the 2024 MLB Draft. There was word that Kansas City was interested in the Vanderbilt product. Unfortunately, Atlanta swooped him up before he got to the Royals' pick (Kansas City ended up selecting David Shields as a result, which hasn't been a bad consolation). 

It hasn't been smooth for Holton as a professional in the Braves organization. He has struggled with injuries, having pitched only in 51.2 total innings in the Minor Leagues since 2024. He pitched only two innings in Low-A ball in 2024, shortly after being drafted, and missed all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery. 

Holton has returned to the mound this year and has mostly pitched in Low-A Augusta of the Carolina League. In seven outings and 33.2 IP, he has a 5.08 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. However, his FIP is slightly better at 4.98, and he has a 21% K% and a 2.31 K/BB ratio. 

Much like Braun, the 23-year-old lefty limits walks and throws strikes, though he hasn't generated a ton of swing-and-miss this year, as evidenced by his percentiles in Augusta via TJ Stats. 

However, he hasn't pitched competitively since 2024, so some adjustment is to be expected with Holton. He has shown flashes of living up to that second-round pick status, as illustrated in his first start with Augusta this season. 

Holton sports a diverse pitch mix, with four pitches: a fastball, slider, curve, and changeup. Scouts were high on Holton's stuff, despite his 5'11 stature, as illustrated in his scouting report by MLB Pipeline when drafted. 

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Holton's fastball operates at 93-95 mph and tops out at 98 with some arm-side run. He misses more bats with a low-80s slider that features horizontal and vertical action and shuts down left-handers. His upper-70s curveball was a solid offering in the past before regressing in 2023, and he also owns a sinking mid-80s changeup. 

Though scouts believe in Holton's stuff and competitive makeup, there are questions about his viability as a long-term starter. He's undersized at 5-foot-11 and missed time last spring, and he uses unorthodox tilt and a high arm slot in his delivery to create leverage. His mechanics can hamper his control and command, though he's throwing more strikes than ever in 2024.

The former Commodore is definitely more of a project than Braun, especially since Holton hasn't advanced beyond Low-A yet, atypical for a college pitcher. However, there is a lot of stuff and potential there for the lefty, as long as he can stay healthy. 

Overall Thoughts on Trade

In their analysis of the deal, Baseball Trade Values noted that it was more favorable to the Royals, calling it a moderate "overpay" by Atlanta. 

Thus, it feels like the Royals made out well in this deal, especially on two expiring assets in Thomas and Falter, both scheduled to be free agents this offseason. Throwing Falter in the deal, who was pretty much just wasting payroll in Omaha, was a nice little throw-in by Picollo, especially since it netted the Royals two of the Braves' Top-30 prospects in this trade. 

Kansas City, like other MLB teams, has less than 48 hours to make trades before Monday's deadline. While this is a good start for Picollo and the Royals, they may need to make 2-3 more moves to make this Deadline more impactful in both the short and long term. This move also opens up some more time for some outfielders in the Royals organization who could use some more playing time for evaluation. That includes John Rave, Matthew Lugo, and Gavin Cross. The latter two are in Omaha.

So far, Picollo is off to a nice start to the Trade Deadline with this initial deal. 

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