Jarrod Parker tops the Oakland A’s the list of 2012 prospects. He joined the organization via the deal that sent Trevor Cahill to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Parker logged 130.2 innings last year with the Double-A Mobile BayBears.
The 23-year-old is already a Tommy John surgery veteran (class of ’10). The 2011 season saw him make 26 appearances, winning 11 games and losing eight in Mobile Bay. In that time he managed to post a 3.79 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP, while striking out 112 and walking 55 batters. A shaky start to the season had some worried Parker wouldn’t recover from his surgery, but after four rough starts the former first-round draft pick settled in for a respectable season.
The Good:
A ground-ball pitcher, Parker’s top pitch is his fastball, which generally clocks in in the mid-90s range. When needed Parker has shown he can dig just a little deeper and touch the upper 90s. His toolbox also consists of a nice slider, a decent curve, and a respectable changeup. Parker has all the tools needed to pitch at the big league level, and put many worries about his Tommy John recovery to rest with an excellent run May through September.
The Bad:
Parker’s rehab may be still in progress. In his first four starts his combined ERA was a lousy 9.00, he was walking 6.35 batters per nine, and opposing batters were hitting a resounding .323. From his fifth start on, though, it appeared Parker got things nailed down. If you drop his first four starts, his ratios improve dramatically–3.01 ERA, 3.4 walks per nine, and opposing batters were hitting just .222
’12 Projection:
100 IP – 6 Ws – 85 Ks – 4.24 ERA – 1.37 WHIP
Look for Parker to start the season with the Sacramento River Cats, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the A’s top prospect pitching in the bigs sometime before the All-Star break.
Few people enjoy fantasy baseball as much as Kent Lister. While the pros are doing calisthenics and playing long toss, he’s scouring the latest ADP lists and working through yet another mock draft. Follow him on twitter @listerkent for a complete rundown of all his 2012 projections.