Time flies for Brewers catcher
Nottingham is in his fifth camp with team
PHOENIX – Jacob Nottingham has only nine games of major-league experience under his belt yet is taking part in his fifth spring training with the Milwaukee Brewers.
That number jumps out to the 24-year-old catcher.
“Time flies, right?” said Nottingham, who avoided serious injury Sunday when he was hit in the right hand by a pitch. “We’ve talked about that. I’m thankful to be with the Brewers still and excited to keep going.”
Nottingham’s first taste of majorleague camp was in 2016, days after he was acquired from the Oakland A’s
along with pitcher Bubba Derby in exchange for Khris Davis.
Then only 20 and having never played above advanced Class A, Nottingham spent his time learning from the likes of Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado.
He also earned himself a small measure of fame by launching a battingpractice home run that landed in a parking lot and smashed the back window of his own car.
Now Nottingham and Manny Piña find themselves as the most tenured Brewers backstops in camp.
Yet while Piña's spot on the majorleague team is all but assured, Nottingham is still fighting to get himself into the picture. That job that didn't get any easier with the Brewers' offseason acquisition of Omar Narváez, a left-handed hitter with some power who's under team control for three years.
“Motivation, for sure,” Nottingham said. “We're here to compete. I love competing. That's part of our game. I'm excited. We get to learn from each other. He's a guy who's been in the big leagues, so I can learn a lot from him about hitting and catching.”
The book on Nottingham in 2016 was his bat was well ahead of his glove. The fact he was big enough to have earned a football scholarship to the University of Arizona also had many projecting he'd eventually wind up as a first baseman.
But in the years since that narrative has flip-flopped. The question now is whether he'll ever be able to hit enough to make it.
Nottingham hit .231 with five homers and 40 runs batted in over 83 games last season at Class AAA San Antonio, a member of the offense-friendly Pacific Coast League.
“You always have to remember he's not that old,” manager Craig Counsell said.
“Every year, he gets a little better. We talked about it yesterday on the bench. His receiving skills are really, really good. It's impressive. The five years of work since we first saw him, it's really impressive.
“He's done a good job with his body, as well. As a 19, 20-year-old, he was really, really big. Fortunately, he stopped growing.”
Nottingham has never wavered in his belief that he could stick behind the plate, so from that perspective his ascension – halting as it as been – can be considered a success.
“Last year was a big year for learning the new catching metrics and how people are catching these days, like J.T. Realmuto, like Yasmani (Grandal),” he said. “I tried to catch up on that. Last year was a very successful year and I'm just trying to bring it into this year.
“I'm very comfortable with the new way of catching and now I'm just trying to keep working at it and to perfect it.”
Behind Nottingham, the Brewers have a pair of highly regarded catchers in Mario Feliciano and Payton Henry. High draft picks in 2016, both are likely to land at Class AA Biloxi this season and are considered the next wave in the organization.
Nottingham had a brief taste of the majors last season, hitting .333 with a homer and four RBI in nine games. He'd likely get the first opportunity should Narváez or Piña be sidelined, so making the most of his fifth camp is going to be important.
“Just get familiar with every pitcher, work hard and continue to work on my game – catching and hitting,” Nottingham said of his focus.