Rangers trade Jason Frasor to Royals for pitching prospect Spencer Patton

The Texas Rangers traded veteran relief pitcher Jason Frasor to the Kansas City Royals this afternoon. In exchange, the Royals will ship right-handed pitcher Spencer Patton to Texas. Patton was pitching for Triple-A Omaha before the trade, posting a 4.08 ERA in 46 innings with a 60/22 K/BB, 26 hits allowed, and 14 saves.

Patton is a 6-1, 185 pound right-hander born on February 20, 1988. He was drafted by Kansas City in the 24th round in 2011, from the University of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. He had an excellent 2013 season, posting a 1.96 ERA with a 76/20 K/BB in 64 innings for High-A Wilmington, followed by a 1.50 ERA with a 27/6 K/BB in 18 innings for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Patton works with a 90-93 MPH fastball, a slider and an occasional changeup. His stuff does not stand out and has kept him off prospect lists, but he's deceptive and hitters have a hard time picking his pitches up, resulting in consistently excellent strikeout rates despite the lack of hot velocity. In the majors he projects as a potential middle relief option, but he needs to sharpen his command a bit more and avoid the gopher balls that have plagued him at times this year.