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Jarrod Parker Minor League Report
By Chad Gramling | February 23, 2008
Gleamed from MLB.com:
TUCSON, Ariz. — Jarrod Parker’s stay in big league camp was brief, but the impression that he made will last for a while.
The D-backs sent their No. 1 pick from last year’s First-Year Player Draft to Minor League camp Friday morning, a move designed to let him get more work on fundamentals before he starts his first professional season.
“He had an opportunity to see what big league camp is all about,” farm director A.J. Hinch said. “He’s going to need to be protected throughout the season, so before it got really hot and heavy here in big league camp, it’s kind of a nice time to get him assigned to Minor League camp.”
Parker, who pitched for Norwell (Ind.) High School last year, signed just before the Aug. 15 deadline and got his first taste of professional action in last fall’s instructional league, during which he hit 98 mph on the radar guns.
As with any young pitcher who is not used to pitching every five days, the D-backs will take it easy on him innings-wise this year. He will likely start out with Class A South Bend and throw somewhere in the neighborhood of 115-125 innings.
“For a kid right out of high school he wasn’t overmatched by anything here,” D-backs manager Bob Melvin said. “I told him that he should take a lot of confidence out of this experience.”
Tags: Number 1 picks, prospects, Jarrod Parker, Diamondbacks
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