In his glowing review, he sees Nottingham as a potential star so long as he can stay behind the plate. However, ESPN insider Keith Law feels the newest member of the A’s organization was a steal. McDaniel’s final projection states, “Nottingham could be an above average everyday catcher.” The A’s have shown they have no problem sticking with ‘offense-first’ type catchers the last couple years: Stephen Vogt, Josh Phegley, Derek Norris, John Jaso. FanGraph’s Kiley McDaniel who recently asked a scout about Nottigham’s defense ability the scout told him, “Nottingham gets a little too high or low on himself based on offensive results, and there are some mechanical issues to work out behind the plate, but this is normal for a 20 year old.” Whether or not he’s going to become a Gold Glover – he wont – makes no difference. On the other side of the ball, the only knock on the kid is if he will be able to stay behind the plate. These adjustments made in just a one-year span have made a huge difference in his production. The power is created by his backside becoming stacked before sending all his body through the ball. His hands also flutter and drift back a bit before coming through the zone in sync with his small leg kick. However, you’ll also see that when he begins his swing, he floats back before coming forward with somewhat of a lunge in all it’s more of a coiled swing. When you watch the video below from 2014, you’ll see plenty of pop and plenty of power, something Nottingham naturally has. The reason for the huge difference in his batting has been the adjustments he’s made within his swing. His SO/BB reached its peak in 2014 when it ballooned to 27.0%, but in just a year’s span has lowered all the way down to 18.5%. 307), he did have a problem early on with striking out often. Although his on-base percentage (OBP) has never fluttered below. Another comforting trend is his strikeout percentage (SO/PA) ratio. 217 ISO, specifically) across all of Class-A.” The crazy part is his ISO number – measuring a hitter’s power and how often a player hits for extra bases – is up nearly 70 points in High-A. While playing for the River Bandits, according to, “Nottingham produced the third-best isolated-power figure (a. 974 OPS and while it’s just been 17 games, there’s reason to believe the positive trend is not a fluke. Easily earning himself a mid-season call up to High-A ball in the California League – known for grooming hitters – he continues to impress. 326/.383/.558, while blasting 10 home runs in just 59 games. Nottingham absolutely wrecked the Midwest League on the Quad Cities River Bandits (Houston’s Single-A affiliate), slashing. 238/.325/.385 in two years of rookie ball, he exploded in 2015. These batting traits he carries are not ones that the position he plays tends to develop – its either you have it or you don’t.Īfter slashing just. Last year playing for the Greeneville Astros of the Appalachian League in rookie ball, he caught the eye of evaluators with his smooth stroke and advanced offensive approach, something not common amongst catchers. Over his short three-year career in the minors, he has grabbed the attention of many, and using the raving reviews that he’s received, I have compiled an all-you-need-to-know report about the newest addition to the Oakland Athletics farm system. It’s rare that a player with plus power – which he has demonstrated – also can hit for average. Still just 20 years of age, Jacob Nottingham has amazing size for a catcher and contributes heavily with his bat. “The Sheriff of Nottingham” (everyone needs a nickname) is supposed to be the prize of the trade and for good reason. He connected on 15 home runs while walking at a robust 10.5% clip but struck out in an elevated 27.7% of his trips.Drafted out of Redlands HS in the 6 th Round of the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft Nottingham spent the entire 2022 season with the O’s top affiliate in Norfolk, where he hit. He spent the remainder of that season in Triple-A and inked a minor league deal with the Orioles last winter. He cleared that time around and hasn’t played in the majors since then. Nottingham again found himself on the wire in early June 2021 after being designated for assignment by the Mariners. The series of transactions even partially inspired a change in the newest collective bargaining agreement now, teams move to the back of the waiver priority on a player if they’ve already claimed him once before in that season. He went from Milwaukee to Seattle on waivers, was reacquired by the Brew Crew for cash a week and a half later, then landed back in Seattle on waivers a couple weeks thereafter. Within a one-month span early in that season, Nottingham yo-yoed between the two clubs.
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