The Astros picked up Scott Kazmir from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for two minor leaguers who were teammates at High-A Quad Cities: pitcher Daniel Mengden and catcher Jacob Nottingham.
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The 20-year-old Nottingham, meanwhile, is the sexier of the two prospects going to the A’s.
Houston sits two games out of first place in the AL West heading into Thursday night’s action. Kazmir’s record may be 5-5, but his 2.38 ERA ranks fifth in the American League.
Even though the trade may appear to have a neutral or even negative impact on Kazmir’s fantasy value, it should be a net plus. He has 101 strikeouts and 35 walks.
He is coming off an 8 1/3-inning outing against the Twins Saturday in which he allowed one run on five hits. He is earning $13,000,000 this season. Mengden had some great upside when his fastball tops out at 95, but it had also shown to drop to 88 on some occasions so inconsistency is the main key for him. There’s no indication money changed hands in the deal.
The GM talked to the pitcher Thursday. “He said he’s got mixed emotions but he’s excited to come home to Houston he’s excited to join our organization he’s excited to go win a championship”. The Athletics’ assessment of the pair is all that really matters in this instance, but both are likely at least a year away from making their big-league debuts.
Nottingham, listed at 6 feet 3 and 227 pounds, is considered a potential power hitter whose receiving skills have improved this season.
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The Astros did not give up much and Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports writes that the 2014 draft, which many called a “disaster” for the Astros, has given the team a strong pitcher. That is to say, a guy in the lower minors who has flashed some talent but doesn’t have the look of being a top prospect.
