Shawn Nottingham

Shawn Nottingham - Left-handed Pitcher
Age: 23 Height: 6'1" Weight: 190 Bats: Left Throws: Left

	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	BB9	K9	WHIP
2007 Akron	9	12	4.77	27	26	0	149.0	157	79	11	59	96	3.56	5.80	1.45
Career	27	31	4.26	97	79	0	471.0	487	223	36	168	384	3.21	7.34	1.39

History: The Indians acquired Nottingham from the Seattle Mariners as the player to be named later in the Ben Broussard for Shin-Soo Choo trade during the 2006 season. Nottingham is a local kid drafted out of Jackson High School in Canton, OH, so the trade to the Cleveland organization has been a homecoming of sorts, especially last year where he pitched at Akron which is just minutes from his hometown.

Strengths & Opportunities: If you look at Nottingham's minor league career he has always been a consistent pitcher. Given his young age at a more advanced level as well as being left-handed, the Indians are excited about his potential. Nottingham is a fundamentally sound pitcher with a fastball that sits around 89-91 MPH, and he compliments it with a curveball and changeup. He has a good delivery, and has a good feel for all of his pitches. He is durable, and showcases some good tilt on his breaking ball.

After an impressive first two months last year at Akron where he was 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA in April and 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in May, Nottingham hit a wall in June going 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA. He tailed off the rest of the season, and the troubles were mostly mental in that he struggled to regain his confidence, which carried over into his mechanics causing him to have issues finishing his pitches and consistently repeating his delivery. During bullpen sessions between starts, Nottingham continued to fine tune his mechanics and work on better repeating his delivery. Going forward, he needs to continue improving his fastball command.

Outlook: This year, it is unknown whether Nottingham will remain a starter or be moved to the bullpen. Given his age, the Indians may choose to stick with him a little longer in the rotation before considering a move to the bullpen, which would be a new role for him. He should start the year in the Akron rotation.

Video: Nottingham on the mound.

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