Norwell grad Jarrod Parker's working his way up
South Bend Silverhawk got used to playing against older kids at a young age
http://tinyurl.com/3hsc48
By Nick West
of The News-Sentinel
Nine-year-old Jarrod Parker stepped to the plate against the hardest-throwing
pitcher in the 12-year-old Little League.
Looking on were Jarrod's parents, Brent and Ranelle, wondering if they made the
right decision to bump their child up to play with the older children. It was a
few games into the season, and Jarrod was struggling.
Brent persuaded Little League officials to let Jarrod play with the older kids
because he was advanced for his age and so he could play on the same team as
his older brother, Justin.
The 12-year-old pitcher reared back and unleashed a fastball. With a mighty
swing, Jarrod crushed the ball off the center-field fence.
“He was coming around second base and his eyes were as big as saucers,” Brent
said. “The rest of the year he was really good. I think stuff like that played
a part in his future.”
And what a future it could be for Jarrod, now 19 and pitching his first
professional season for the South Bend Silverhawks of the Class A Midwest
League.
Jarrod was the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2007 Major League
Baseball Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, who anticipate that the 6-foot-1,
190-pound right-hander will one day join its five-man starting pitching
rotation.
The early years
Jarrod grew up playing baseball with his brother and older neighborhood kids.
He quickly learned older kids wouldn't go easy on him. But he relished the
challenge.
“It was nothing for him to be four or five years younger than guys and playing
tackle football against them,” Brent said. “But he never worried about it. He
was hardnosed. He always felt, ‘Hey I don't want to succeed against guys three
years younger than me, I want to do it against the older kids.'”
Throughout Little League, traveling all-stars and middle school baseball,
Jarrod was a position player who never took to pitching. He didn't have the
desire.
Brent coached the boys until they turned 13, and he didn't go easy on them.
“We didn't give them soft stuff,” Brent said. “If they asked if they stunk,
and they did, we told them they stunk. But if the day came when they said they
were done playing, then we were behind them. It helped we didn't sugarcoat
things. They knew it was going to be tough.”
Early high school
The boys attended Wayne High School and were SAC all-conference baseball
players. Jarrod was a utility player who sometimes pitched. Justin was a
shortstop and pitcher.
They played together for two years before Justin graduated and went on to play
on a scholarship at Wright State.
After a game toward the end of Justin's senior and Jarrod's sophomore season,
the older brother approached his father about his younger brother's future.
Jarrod had just pitched a gem against No.1 Bellmont.
“Justin asked me if I knew how good Jarrod was going to be,” Brent said. “He
said, ‘Dad, give him a chance. Get him out of here… somewhere where they can
challenge him.' I thought about it and thought maybe he was right.”
In the summer of 2005, before Jarrod's junior season, the Parkers moved into
the Norwell High School district. Norwell had knocked Wayne out of the
sectional tournament in two straight seasons. The Knights won the 2003 Class 3A
state championship when Jarrod was in eighth grade.
“We just felt the situation for him and where he could be going that we needed
to give him a chance,” Brent said. “We wanted to get him in a different
program and we did. Our biggest reason was to make sure his opportunities were
all there.”
The move was also made in part because Jarrod had developed friendships with
many Norwell players by playing with them on a summer traveling team.
It was during that summer that Jarrod started pitching lessons with instructor
Mark De La Garza, who saw the big-time arm Jarrod possessed. De La Garza, whose
son Andy was the winning pitcher for the 2003 Norwell title team and is in the
San Francisco Giants minor league system, constructed the 15-year-old's
mechanics.
“That's pretty much where it happened,” Jarrod said. “We worked on that
mechanical stuff every day during the offseason.”
Proper mechanics meant a stronger arm, smoother delivery, sharper pitches and
significantly less risk of injury.
That was the summer Jarrod decided he wanted to be a pitcher.
A drastic change
Norwell varsity coach Kelby Weybright knew the type of player he was getting.
“We respected him and his brother,” Weybright said. “We knew who they were
and we knew to avoid those kids (in games).”
The fifth-year head coach was understandably excited to be adding a former
adversary to his roster.
By the time Jarrod's junior baseball season began in April 2006, he was 16 and
stronger and faster than ever before, coming off a growth spurt the previous
summer. Coupled with his refined pitching mechanics, dedication in the weight
and conditioning rooms, and of course that natural talent, Jarrod was prime to
begin his dominant high school career.
The only loss in his junior season was in a 6-2 decision to eventual Class 4A
state champion Snider. But Norwell dominated Class 3A, going 29-1 and making it
to the state championship at Victory Field in Indianapolis. Jarrod, 8-1 with a
0.76 earned-run average, would start against a famed Jasper program seeking its
fifth state title in 10 seasons.
Statistically, that game was his worst outing of the season. He pitched 3 2/3
innings and allowed six runs on seven hits. Jasper scored three runs in the
bottom of the seventh inning to win 13-12.
Jarrod and his teammates vowed to return.
A whirlwind senior season
In September 2006, Jarrod was one of 18 high schoolers under selected to the
United States Junior National Team that played in the World Championships in
Cuba. He started one game and appeared as a reliever in two others. He was 1-0
with a 0.77 ERA in 11 2/3 innings pitched and allowed six hits, two runs - one
earned - and struck out 10. The U.S. finished second to Korea.
He also pitched in the East Coast Professional Showcase and 2006 Area Code
Games in California, tournaments that showcased some of the country's best high
schoolers.
“That summer season was incredible,” Weybright said. “He went from off the
radar to on everybody's first screen.”
Uncertain of a professional future, Jarrod signed in Nov. 2006 to play his
college career at Georgia Tech. Little did he know that his remarkable senior
season would catapult him to the top of many MLB organizations' draft boards.
Dozens of MLB scouts attended every game he pitched, including a May 30 game
that Chicago Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry saw in person. The Diamondbacks
never missed a start.
The incessant attention never bothered the 18-year-old, who knew his skills
would one day take him further than his teammates ever dreamed but never
boasted about it. He was one of the guys. He focused on the team, never-ending
improvement, and the goal of winning a state title.
Weybright recalled a game early in the 2007 season in which Jarrod dove
headfirst into home plate during a double steal.
“I'm thinking, ‘Oh, man! There are 20 MLB scouts here and he's stealing home
headfirst and could get hurt,'” Weybright said. “He's that kind of kid. He
has goals for the team. And that helped him fit in with the other kids because
there was no jealousy from them.”
Jarrod obliterated opposing batting lineups as Norwell turned in an undefeated
regular season. Two days before the 2007 semistate finals, Jarrod and his
closest family and friends gathered at the Parker household for the MLB draft.
Media outlets and Parker family advisers said Jarrod would likely be a top 10
selection.
The Diamondbacks chose him with the ninth pick, but there wasn't much time for
celebration. Semistate awaited.
Jarrod pitched a one-hitter in Norwell's first-round semi-state game. Then,
after tweaking his hamstring, he pitched three shutout innings to close the
semistate championship game. He hit two home runs, two doubles and had three
RBIs in the two games.
In the state title game, he blasted a two-run first-inning home run. He
aggravated the same hamstring while beating out an infield single in the fifth
inning, yet managed to pitch a seven-inning shutout to lead the Knights to a
state championship and perfect 35-0 record.
He finished his senior season with a 12-0 record, 0.10 ERA and struck out 116
batters in 70 innings. He was named Indiana Mr. Baseball, 2007 Louisville
Slugger State High School Baseball Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of
the Year.
Parker the pro
Before he showed up to the ballpark on Thursday, Jarrod stopped at Subway to
get lunch.
“It's such a jump from going from high school every day to being on your own
and being independent and responsible for stuff,” he said. “You don't have
people looking over you. You're on your own… responsible for getting stuff
done. It's a big change.”
But Jarrod's not homesick - though he does miss his mom's home cooking.
“I reach out to my family all the time,” he said. “I try to have contact
with my mom and dad every day.”
Jarrod joined the Silverhawks a few weeks into the season after a stint in the
spring instructional league. His first start, on April 11, was a loss. In 2 2/3
innings pitched, he allowed three runs - none earned and five hits while
striking out three batters. It was Jarrod's first loss since April 13, 2006
against Snider.
After Friday's win against the Wizards, Parker now has a 3-1 record with a
1.05 ERA in six starts. In 25 2/3 innings he's allowed 22 hits, three earned
runs, four walks and has 21 strikeouts.
In the game before his next outing, he sits in the dugout with the rest of the
team. But on the three other days, he sits in the stands to video tape or chart
pitches of his teammates and opposing batters.
“It gives us insight into where to pitch, to see what it takes to get them
out,” Jarrod said. “It doesn't bother me. I mean, sometimes I want to be in
the dugout hanging out with the guys. But I've got to do what I've got to do
and learn and watch them hit. I need to get better and make better pitches.”
Jarrod is still on a low pitch count, so his arm isn't strained as he develops
more strength in it.
Because he signed just before the Aug. 15 MLB deadline (with a bonus of $2.1
million), Jarrod didn't see any minor league action last season. He pitched in
the Diamondbacks fall instructional league, showing off his fastball
(92-97 mph), change-up, slider and curveball.
He's drawn comparisons in frame and style to MLB pitchers Roy Oswalt (Houston
Astros) and Tim Linecum (San Francisco Giants). He's the No. 2-ranked prospect
in Arizona's farm system, according to Baseball America.
Jarrod got a taste of the big leagues when Arizona put him in spring training
for five days, in which he met manager Bob Melvin and coach Kirk Gibson and
hung out with players like pitcher Micah Owings.
“I was in the clubhouse every day,” Jarrod said. “I sat there and listened
and took in everything they had to say.
“It was awesome. I loved every day of it. I showed up as early as I could.”
Getting that big league experience, however brief, served as a motivational
tool for Jarrod.
“I got enough taste to stay motivated,” he said. “The lifestyle they have,
tThe treatment they receive is far above what we get. I'm motivated to be
there. I want to pitch in the big leagues.”
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