Oakland Athletics Trade Scott Kazmir For Future Catcher, Reliever
Jul 18, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; O.co Coliseum home of the Oakland Athletics before the game against the Minnesota Twins Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
Jacob Nottingham
Jacob Nottingham was just identified as the A’s new number five prospect (number 1 among A’s catchers) according to MLB prospect pipeline, and he is likely the more important piece of the trade between the two players involved.
Nottingham is not expected to be Major League ready until 2018, but that is an acceptable time table for the A’s, who will be enjoying the services of Stephen Vogt and Josh Phegley for the near future.
This works in Nottingham’s favor. He struggled in his first two seasons in the Rookie League, where he posted unremarkable numbers in pretty much every metric. However, he has totally found himself in 2015. The A’s will be able to use the time afforded to them by their current catchers as a buffer period to make sure that Nottingham can stay in this form.
More from White Cleat Beat
- Oakland A’s add needed bullpen piece in Trevor May
- Garrett Acton could become key piece in Oakland A’s bullpen
- The stark difference between Oakland A’s, San Francisco Giants
- Jace Peterson – the Oakland A’s new super utility option
- Oakland A’s sign intriguing catcher Yohen Pozo
He has played 76 games between Class A and High A this season, and he is hitting .326/.383/.558 with 14 home runs in that time. The A’s will probably let him finish the year in Stockton to make sure he can sustain this production, and he will steadily get starts in Midland and Nashville in 2016 and 2017.
The A’s got him for one reason, and that is power. The A’s lineup demonstrates a dreadful lack of power, and offseason acquisition Billy Butler has failed to remedy that problem.
One thing that Nottingham has been able to accomplish in his short time in the minors is that he is getting better at making contact. In 2014, his strikeout percentage in Rookie League was 27 percent. This season between Class A and High A, he has brought that down to 18.5 percent. This is an indication that he is developing into a power hitter that will also be able to hit for average, and his .326 average this season is the strongest evidence of that.
2015 and 2016 are definitely the years of Stephen Vogt and Josh Phegley, but the A’s just picked up their catcher of the future.