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The Oakland Athletics have traded starting pitcher Scott Kazmir to the Houston Astros for right-handed pitcher Daniel Mengden and catcher Jacob Nottingham. Kazmir had been on turn to start against the Toronto Blue Jays, but the A's have instead recalled pitcher Arnold Leon to go to the bullpen, while Drew Pomeranz will start in Kazmir's place.
Kazmir now hugging teammates goodbye. #Athletics will have new starter for today's game vs Blue Jays
— Ron Kroichick (@ronkroichick) July 23, 2015
Jacob Nottingham, 20, was Houston's 6th round selection in the 2013 amateur draft out of Redlands High School in Redlands, CA. After two seasons in short season Rookie level play, 2015 marks Nottingham's first full season of professional baseball.
Nottingham is also in High-A, and in 76 plate appearances, he posted a slash line of .324/.368/.606 with a wOBA of .419 and a wRC+ of 162.
— MLB Daily Dish (@mlbdailydish) July 23, 2015
Jacob Nottingham (Kazmir Trade) is the youngest catcher in the Cal League A+, and the top hitting one with a 162 wRC+ #Athletics #Astros
— SaberCoach (@SaberCoach) July 23, 2015
#Astros considered Nottingham solid catching prospect, probable major leaguer, a sleeper. Mengden good arm strength, sinker/slider combo.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 23, 2015
Daniel Mengden, 22, was Houston's 4th round selection in the 2014 amateur draft out of Texas A&M. The right-hander earned a promotion from Low-A to High-A in the middle of this season. His High-A statistics:
In 49.2 innings, Mengden has a K/9 of 8.70, a BB/9 of 3.26, an ERA of 5.26 and an FIP of 4.02.
— MLB Daily Dish (@mlbdailydish) July 23, 2015
Don't be too alarmed by that ERA, however. His home team, the Lancaster JetHawks, plays at a ridiculously wind-blown high-altitude stadium that makes no pitcher look good.
Astros general manager Jeff Lunhow is already expressing excitement over bolstering his rotation:
"We’ve been working on it for a little while, Oakland wasn’t sure what they were going to do… I"m excited." — Jeff Luhnow
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) July 23, 2015
This is a developing story.
