Daniel Mengden, Jacob Nottingham to A's: Trade Details, Scouting Report, More

The Oakland Athletics dealt away three-time All-Star pitcher Scott Kazmir to Houston on Thursday, picking up Astros prospects Daniel Mengden and Jacob Nottingham in return.  

News of the trade was officially announced through the Athletics' Twitter feed. Kazmir was in the final year of his contract, so Oakland did well to gain compensation.

A's fans are probably wondering what sort of value general manager Billy Beane got in this deal to land the right-handed pitcher Mengden and catcher Nottingham. The trade appears to be a delectable one on the surface.

Mengden has to have feelings about leaving his hometown team after starring for Texas A&M in college. His path to the big leagues has also hit a bit of a roadblock of late.

After lighting it up in eight games (six starts) with the Quad Cities River Bandits in posting a 4-1 record with a 1.16 ERA, Mengden has struggled to find form for Class A Lancaster with a 5.26 ERA in 10 appearances.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports highlighted how the Astros' criticized draft during Mengden's year seems to be paying dividends now:

Despite his recent struggles, the physical tools and overall arsenal of pitches are there to suggest Mengden can bounce back and contribute at the MLB level soon enough. Houston may well regret sending him away if Kazmir chooses another team in free agency this winter.

When the Astros initially signed the hard-throwing Mengden after drafting him in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, Houston scouting director Mike Elias provided an insightful scouting report on him, per MLB.com's Brian McTaggart:

"

Daniel is a bulldog starter who can mix four pitches for strikes, including a plus fastball. He's been a stalwart in three seasons for the Aggies and in a terrific summer for Team USA. He's a great athlete, as his history as a two-way player demonstrates, and is as fierce a competitor as you will find. He joins a talented stable of power arms in our organization and fits exactly what we look for in a starting pitching prospect.

"

As for Nottingham, he is still just 20 years old and has really come into his own this year in Single-A ball. Nottingham has hit .326 in 76 games with 14 home runs, 60 RBI, 24 doubles and two triples.

FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel indicates how far Nottingham has risen within the Astros farm system this year:

Most impressive about Nottingham's hitting was his weighted runs above average of 19.9 in 59 contests with Quad Cities, per FanGraphs.

Chosen in the sixth round of the amateur draft in 2013, Oakland is getting excellent value on a catcher in Nottingham with tremendous upside as a batter and a developed 6'3", 227-pound frame to stay durable behind the plate. If he can continue honing his defensive fundamentals, an MLB leap ought to be feasible within the next two to three years.

To gain two players with this type of potential is a big score for the A's and could wind up helping them win Thursday's trade, even with the perceived short-term gain Houston has in acquiring Kazmir.

Note: Stats courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise indicated.