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The Oakland Athletics had to be holding their breath with every Scott Kazmir start this season, knowing his shoulder could go at any time and potentially cost them a shot at a return, well, like the one they got in this deal with the Houston Astros. The Astros paid dearly for two months -- maybe a dozen starts in the remainder of the regular season -- of Kazmir. They gave up a top young catching prospect and a quality right-handed starter prospect who was buried in the team's surfeit of right-handed arms.
Kazmir is an impending free agent and probably not someone to whom the A's would have made a qualifying offer. He also has had multiple scares this year regarding the health of his arm and ultimately missed just two starts. He has been as effective as ever this year, continuing the plus control he has had since he returned to the majors, and has benefited from Oakland's spacious home park. He gave up zero homers in 66 innings in Oakland this year -- an unsustainable rate.
The lefty Kazmir works primarily with a two-seamer and changeup, so he Is as effective versus righties as he is versus lefties, despite not having the slider that was his best weapon earlier in his career. The Astros have had a couple replacement-level starters in their rotation this year, including Roberto Hernandez and Scott Feldman, and swapping 10 to 12 of their starts to Kazmir should be worth a full win (and maybe a shade more) to the Astros the rest of the way.
Jacob Nottingham checks in at 6-foot-3 and 227 pounds. Cliff Welch/Icon SMI
The gem of the deal for Oakland is catcher Jacob Nottingham, a 20-year-old with a chance to stay at the position and the potential upside of 20-25 homers a year. A raw, two-sport athlete in high school who turned down a chance to play linebacker for Alabama, Nottingham has 70 raw power, thanks to his strength and a high-leverage swing that produces above-average power to the opposite field. He is power before hit, but his approach at the plate has improved substantially since high school, and he projects as a solid-average bat with above-average to plus power. His arm is a tick above average but is very accurate, while his receiving is fringy and might never get to average. He could be a star if he remains at catcher, and he could end up as a middle-of-the-order bat if he hits his realistic ceiling on offense.
Daniel Mengden was extremely unlikely to see the majors with Houston, given how many other right-handed arms the Astros have in their system, most of whom throw a bit -- or a lot -- harder than Mengden does. He'll pitch with a solid-average fastball and above-average cutter, pitching aggressively with plus control and, I think, future-plus command. The Astros have altered his arm slot this year, but he's at his best from a higher slot. I think he's a fourth or fifth starter, though I know some scouts have him as a likely reliever.
For my boy Proint