Jarrod Parker (born November 24, 1988) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He was drafted by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

as the 9th overall pick in the

2007 Major League Baseball Draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the f ...

from Norwell High School in

Ossian, Indiana Ossian is a town in Jefferson Township, Wells County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The town was named after Ossian, the narrator of a cycle of epic poems by the Scottish poet James Macpherson. The population was 3,289 at the 2010 census. Hist ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Diamondbacks and the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Parker was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 9th overall pick of the 2007 amateur draft and signed with the Diamondbacks on August 15, 2007 for $2.1M. Parker was the first high school arm taken in the draft. It took Parker up until just a few hours prior to the deadline for draftees to sign, as he was weighing his options and had Georgia Tech as his fallback plan. After signing late, he missed out on pro-ball in the 2007 season, but he jumped right into Single-A in 2008 and held his own as a 19-year-old, pitching for the South Bend Silver Hawks. He had a 12–5 record with a 3.44 ERA, fanning 177 in 117 innings. After starting 2009 at high-A Visalia, he was promoted in April to the Diamondbacks Double-A affiliate, the Mobile BayBears. During a start on July 30, Parker injured his right elbow. He did not pitch again that season and ended up requiring

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, which took place on October 28, 2009 and thus and missed the entire 2010 season. He spent the 2011 season with the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

in the Southern League, with an 11–8 record. He made his

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

debut on 27 September 2011, against the

Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He pitched five-plus innings of shutout ball.

Oakland Athletics

On December 9, 2011, the Diamondbacks traded Parker,

Collin Cowgill Collin Brannen Cowgill (born May 22, 1986) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current major league coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Los Angeles ...

and Ryan Cook to the

for

Trevor Cahill Trevor John Cahill (born March 1, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Sa ...

and

Craig Breslow Craig Andrew Breslow (pronounced BREHZ-loh; born August 8, 1980) is an American baseball executive and former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently the Assistant General Manager/Vice President, Director of Pitch ...

. After spending the early part of the 2012 season at the Triple-A level, Parker joined the Athletics'

starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...

in late April. On June 4, 2012, Parker

no-hit In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

the Texas Rangers for seven innings before surrendering a single to Michael Young to lead off the eighth. Parker was Game 1 and 5 starter for the

2012 ALDS The 2012 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams in the 2012 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth team—the winner of a one-game Wild Card ...

against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Parker took losses for both games as he went up against Tigers ace

Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...

. Parker finished the 2012 season with a 13–8 record with 140 strikeouts with an era of 3.47 while finishing 5th for rookie of the year During the 2013 season, Parker set a franchise record nineteen consecutive starts without a loss. He finished the season with a record of 12-8 and an era of 3.97. He was also the starter of Game 3 of the ALDS going 5 innings with his first postseason win. Parker was projected to be named A's opening day starter for the 2014 season, but it was announced on March 17, 2014 that Parker would undergo his second Tommy John surgery, which would cause him to miss the 2014 season. In 2015, while pitching in a rehab assignment, Parker fractured his elbow, which led to surgery. In March 2016, Parker once again fractured his elbow and underwent surgery on April 1. Parker was outrighted to the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

on October 7, 2016, and he then elected free agency.

Retirement

Parker announced his retirement from baseball on February 13, 2018. Parker said he'd look to work in the health industry, potentially serving as a rehab coordinator for players returning from injury.

Pitching style

Parker threw five pitches. His main pitch was a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is c ...

thrown 92–95 mph that he threw for about half of his pitches. He also had a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

at 90–94. His main off-speed pitch was a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

in the low 80s, and he also had a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

and occasional

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

. The two-seamer and changeup were used primarily on left-handed hitters, as their movement tailed away toward the outside corner. Likewise, Parker did not use his two-seamer to right-handers at all, and he only employed his slider against right-handers. Parker used his changeup heavily in 2-strike counts. Parker described his pitching approach as such:

I'm aggressive. I like to attack the zone, down ... Early on, I want to establish the fastball down and be as aggressive as I can, but in certain counts I'll want to raise the hitter's eye level, then come back with a curveball. Less damage can be done when the ball is down. For me, ground balls are better than fly balls. That's something I really push for, because down in the zone with some movement is going to be a little harder to hit. But changing eye levels by going up in the zone is important. It's tough for a hitter to lock in when you're moving the ball up and down.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Jarrod 1988 births Living people Baseball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana Major League Baseball pitchers Arizona Diamondbacks players Oakland Athletics players South Bend Silver Hawks players Visalia Rawhide players Mobile BayBears players Sacramento River Cats players Stockton Ports players Nashville Sounds players