Oakland Athletics: Ranking The Top Ten Prospects

Feb 28, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sean Nolin (47) poses for a portrait during Photo Day at HoHoKam Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

No. 10: Jacob Nottingham, C

Talent: 50/100
Minor League Performance: 27/30
Major League Need: 8/20
Final Score: 57

Jacob Nottingham is an incredibly promising catcher that was acquired from the Houston Astros’ organization in the Scott Kazmir trade. His chief upside is his power bat. The University of Arizona offered Nottingham a football scholarship to play tight end, so he has the build of a powerful athlete. He is certainly putting on a show with this strength in the minors.

In 2015, he is batting .321 with a .915 OPS and 14 home runs. He is absolutely terrorizing minor league pitching, and he is only getting better. Scouts skewered him for not being able to hit for average coming out of college, but his improving plate discipline is defying that criticism.

The only thing working against Nottingham is that Vogt and Josh Phegley are catchers already in the majors that are signed through 2020 and 2021 respectively. The front office is certainly dealing away pieces that were slated for free agency this or next year, but it looks like the catchers are here to stay.

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This is good news for Nottingham, though. There will be no urgency to rush him through the minor league system, and he will certainly be ready for the bigs when the A’s need him.

Nottingham ranks tenth right now, but he will be a top-three prospect when the A’s need for catchers rises. He will be ready by the end of 2017, which is likely when the front office will begin listening to offers for Vogt and Phegley.

No. 9: Sean Nolin, LHP

Talent: 40/100
Minor League Performance: 27/30
Major League Need: 20/20
Final Score: 58

The scouting grades of the newly-acquired pitchers in the A’s system heftily outperform Nolin’s, which is why Nolin has tumbled in most A’s prospect rankings. He has a couple of things working in his favor, though.

The first is that Nolin is the most Major League-ready pitcher in the A’s system. For most of the 2015 season, he has been considered the next go-to person to fill in a rotation spot behind Chris Bassitt. He spent five seasons in Toronto’s minor league system, and his stint in Nashville marks his sixth season in professional baseball. He is the most experienced of all of the A’s pitching prospects.

The second is that Nolin has been having a great season in Nashville. He has been on the Disabled List with a shoulder injury for much of the past month, but the starts he has made have been impressive. He holds a 2.67 ERA through 10 games, and his 1.40 WHIP is a bit deceiving (a pair of rough starts inflated this number, and it is not entirely representative of his body of work).

Before his current shoulder injury, Nolin had also fallen victim to a groin injury in 2014. The A’s may be somewhat worried that he is injury-prone, so he will be eased back into the rotation in Nashville before being given big league consideration. His stuff is not quite as good as the other pitchers on this list, but he can rely on his poise and experience when the A’s finally call him up to the majors.

No. 8: Dillon Overton, LHP

Talent: 53/100
Minor League Performance: 14/30
Major League Need: 20/20
Final Score: 58

Dillon Overton turned down the Boston Red Sox when they drafted him out of high school in the 26th round of the 2010 draft. He instead got picked by the A’s in the second round of the 2013 draft out of the University of Oklahoma. This pick was a gamble, because he had suffered an injury that required Tommy John Surgery, but the A’s still saw value in his talent (especially his off-speed offerings).

Overton does not have an overpowering fastball, but his changeup and curveball are listed as above-average pitches. He is also known for having above-average control. This control is going to be the key for him going forward. He gets batters out by placing his fastball where it will not be hit out of the park, and then placing his offspeed pitches exactly where they need to be to get swings and misses.

His minor league numbers are mostly decent, but negative trends in WHIP and SO/W are the reason his minor league performance score comes in just a tick below average. From 2014 to 2015, his WHIP has inflated from 0.919 to 1.239. When he was promoted from High-A to Double-A, his SO/W lowered from 4.92 to 2.67. His value is going to depend on how well he can make adjustments to the stiffer competition in the more advanced leagues.

Overton cannot afford to suffer control issues. If he can correct this trend, he can make a run for the big league roster in 2017.

Next: Prospect Countdown: Seven And Six