Jarrod Parker - On the verge

In the 2007 amateur draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks were ecstatic when Jarrod Parker fell to them at the ninth overall pick.  The 6’ 1” right-handed high-schooler out of Norwell Indiana had a quick arm that generated mid 90’s velocity with decent secondary pitches that Arizona believed was a great foundation for moving Parker quickly through their system.

Signing over-slot for $2.1M on the signing deadline in 2007, Parker started his professional career in 2008 Low-A South Bend and over 117 innings, struck out 117 batters while issuing only 33 walks.  That performance led to a 2009 Baseball America prospect ranking of 29 and a promotion to High-A Visalia and then to Double-AA Mobile where Parker continued to flourish, posting again impressive strikeout numbers.  In July, elbow tightness led to rest and eventually Tommy John surgery where Parker missed the entire 2010 season.

Scouts and fans alike got excited when Arizona officials reported Parker, still only 22 years old, throwing 94-95 MPH and touching 97 MPH during the 2010 fall instructional league.  However, as Spring Training merged into April, Jarrod Parker followers were reminded that velocity is the first thing to return after Tommy John surgery followed by command.  In five starts from April 11^th to May 5^th at Double-AA Mobile, Parker pitched 23 innings, striking out 20 but issuing 17 walks.  However, since then, he’s pitched 30 innings, striking out 25 and walking only 6.  The 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio is clearly encouraging and is a sign that Parker is returning to form.

While the velocity is there and the command is returning, Arizona continues to be very cautious with their prized prospect.  Parker has only pitched over five innings once this year and appears to be on a pitch count of between 70 and 75 pitches.  However, as Arizona finds themselves in playoff contention, you might begin to see Parker being stretched out very soon.

Fantasy owners need to continue to monitor the progress of Jarrod Parker to ensure his command stays excellent and his innings per start increase.  If both of these occur, and whether or not Parker is promoted to AAA Reno, fantasy owners in deeper leagues should begin adding Parker in late June with an anticipated July call-up.

Texas Rangers Breakout - Neil Ramirez

It’s not often you hear about a prospect moving from Hi-A to AAA in a single day, but that’s what happened recently with Texas Rangers prospect Neil Ramirez.

Ramirez was drafted in the supplemental first round of the 2007 Rule four draft as a 6’ 3’’ high-school right handed with a 91-93 fastball and an above average curveball.  While Ramirez performed well in Low-A Spokane in 2008, he didn’t have the same level of success upon his promotion to Hi-A Hickory in the SALLY league.  Control was the problem for Ramirez as he walked 41 in 66.1 IP. In fact, 2009 was so bad, he was forced to repeat Hi-A in 2010, but by making some mechanical corrections, started to figure things out.

While his 2010 surface stats were not great, including a 4.43 ERA, he struck out 142 in 140.1 IP and walked only 37.  Plus, he improved his curveball and developed a nice changeup to complete the package.  Most impressive, the mechanical change he made pushed his velocity to 92-95 touching 96.

This spring, the Rangers brass openly spoke about how impressed they were with the improved velocity and mechanics of Ramirez.  However, he was assigned once again to Hi-A, but this time in 4.2 IP, he gave up one hit and struck out nine.  For his next start, Ramirez was asked to make an emergency start in AAA and has remained there ever since.  In 21.1 IP, Ramirez is sporting a 1.71 ERA, 25K’s and 8 BB and looks like he belongs.

At age 22, Neil Ramirez appears to be back on the fast track and if he continues to pitch well, could be brought up to the big leagues this summer for a team that will need pitching, unless you think Brandon Webb currently hitting 79-82 on the gun is the answer.  With a plus fastball touching 96, a plus curve, an above average changeup with improving command, it’s time to use the word “Breakout” next to Neil Ramirez.

Batting lead-off - Mike Trout, batting second…

…Jean Segura.

While most knowledgeable baseball fans have heard of Mike Trout, few have heard of Jean Segura, an unheralded Dominican that was signed by the Los Angeles Angels in 2007 at the ripe age of 16. However, after an excellent season last year in Lo-A Cedar Rapids where Segura batted .313, stole 50 bases while slugging 10 home runs, the Angels started to envision a major league batting order that went: 1. Mike Trout, and 2. Jean Segura.

Segura is a strong and athletic generating tremendous bat speed for a guy 5’ 10” and 185 pounds. Based on his swing mechanics, there appears to be power upside to the 10 home runs that Segura hit in 2010. In addition to the offensive upside, managers in the Midwest League ranked him as the best defensive second baseman in the league. With his plus arm, the Angels have moved Segura to shortstop in hopes that he will be an eventual upgrade in the big leagues.

Over the first 15 games of the 2011 season in Hi-A Inland Empire, Segura has raked - batting .344 with six stolen bases and 10 runs scored. While the sample size is small, his contact rate and walk rate have been excellent at 85% and 10% respectfully. Also, the transition to shortstop has been equally great with Segura only committing one error over the course of the first 15 games.

While slightly behind Trout, Segura should get a promotion to Double-A later this summer and assuming things go well, should get a peak at the big league in 2012 before competing for a job in 2013.