Blake Parker

39-Year-Old PitcherP

Free Agent

2024 Stats

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0-0

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0.00

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2025 Fantasy Outlook

There was no outlook written for Blake Parker in 2025. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man No

Height 6'3"

Weight 225

DOB 6/19/1985

Drafted 16th Rd 2006

Heads to open market

PFree Agent

July 7, 2022

The Cardinals released Parker from his minor-league contract Thursday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

ANALYSIS
A veteran of 350 career MLB appearances, Parker attended big-league spring training with the Cardinals as a non-roster invitee, but he was unable to secure a spot in the Opening Day bullpen. The 37-year-old did little to make a case for a promotion during his time at Triple-A Memphis this season, turning in a 6.59 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 27.1 innings. Given his age and poor performance at Triple-A thus far in 2022, Parker seems unlikely to resurface in the majors again.

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Blake Parker See More

The Z Files: Saving the Best for Last

January 20, 2022

Todd Zola examines recent draft trends when it comes to closers and weighs the pros and cons of spending an early pick on the likes of Emmanuel Clase.

Bernie on the Scene: Trade Deadline Edition

July 26, 2021

Bernie Pleskoff looks at players who could be moved at the trade deadline. Will the Mariners trade Mitch Haniger?

Mound Musings: A Look at Pitching in the AL Central

March 11, 2021

Brad Johnson writes about the American League Central this week, where in Chicago, White Sox fans have something to cheer about, as Lucas Giolito has become a bonafide ace.

Collette Calls: The Changing Saves Market

March 3, 2021

Jason Collette looks at the new norm of teams dispersing saves among their relievers and how fantasy owners should respond.

The Long Game: Opportunity Knocks

March 3, 2021

Erik Siegrist takes a look at the potential keeper-league value to be found in AL job battles, as Jared Walsh could become this year's Luke Voit.

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The veteran righty was one of the Phillies' best relievers last season, though that's not saying much for a unit that produced a historically poor 7.06 ERA. Parker was quite good in his 16 innings, however, posting a 2.81 ERA, his best mark since 2017. In his age-35 season, he produced a career-high 36.2 K%, up more than 10 ticks from his 25.5% mark in 2019, though it did come with a 13.0 BB%, his worst mark since his six-inning debut back in 2012. The fact that he struck out so many batters despite his fastball velocity coming in at a modest 90.7 mph, down nearly three ticks from a high of 93.5 mph in 2017, is quite impressive, and likely owes to his career-high splitter usage, a pitch he used 42.2% of the time. Parker appears likely to remain a useful bullpen arm this season and could add a small number to his 34 career saves, though he wouldn't be a primary closing option for many teams.

Parker started the season as the closer for a playoff team. He saved 10 games for the Twins early in the season but was designated for assignment in late July after posting a 7.11 ERA in his final 19 innings for the team. He was picked up by the Phillies but didn't do much in the final two months of the season, recording a 5.04 ERA in 25 innings of work. His peripherals improved significantly over that stretch, however, as his strikeout rate rose from 21.7% in Minnesota to 31.6% in Philadelphia while his walk rate fell from 10.2% to 6.1%. If he can keep up those numbers over a full season (without the 25.0% HR/FB rate that came with it), he can be a shutdown reliever, as he was for the Angels in 2017 when he posted similar strikeout and walk numbers. He'll turn 35 in June, though, so continuing to slide into a lower-leverage role seems more likely than him returning to the ninth inning.

Parker had a tough time following up on his surprise success in 2017. His strikeout rate dropped nine percentage points (to 25.4%) while his home-run rate skyrocketed with 12 long balls allowed in 66.1 innings of work. Despite those issues, he kept his ERA as low as it was thanks to an abnormally high 89.4% left-on-base rate. The other concerning part of his game was a groundball rate that dropped from 47% in 2017 to 33.7% in 2018, turning him from a groundball pitcher to one with many risky flyballs. His home-run-to-flyball rate was mostly in line with 2017, so it was the change in batted-ball types that led to the surge in home runs more than any kind of unfortunate HR/FB fluctuation that we would normally look for when someone's home-run rate spikes this much. What looked like a nice, closer-worthy skill set pre-2018 is now a risky profile that should properly set his value for 2019.

Reliever volatility is a tough thing to forecast. Look at the seasons Parker put up in 2013 and 2017; very similar seasons across the board except that he was an extreme flyball pitcher in 2013 and was more groundball heavy in 2017. The time in between was marred by Tommy John surgery, but Parker made the most of his opportunity, striking out 17 of the final 18 guys he faced in spring training to earn and then keep a job in the bullpen all season. He is already 32 years old and has pitched for four different organizations; Parker looks a bit like Jason Grilli and has had a similar career path. A ceiling such as what Grilli did in his mid 30s is not a bad deal and he should enter camp as the favorite to win the closer role for 2018 after finishing the season in August and September striking out 33 percent of the batters he faced while holding them to a .155 average.

Someone in your NL-only league may have speculated on Parker for saves last year, and that owner would have done well if he were in a Triple-A league, as Parker saved 25 games for Iowa in 2014. To be fair, Parker did have a nice 21-inning run with the Cubs. Ignore the 5.14 ERA and look at some of the other numbers: 24:4 K:BB ratio, an inflated .374 BABIP, and a low 64 percent strand rate. It may not look like it, but Parker may have pitched better than teammate Neil Ramirez last year. Throw in his strong performance with the Cubs in 2013, and we may have a decent sleeper on our hands. If you don't believe in Hector Rondon or whoever the Cubs trot out there in the ninth inning this April, throw your dart at Parker, not Ramirez.

After starting the year in the minors, Parker pitched in relief for the Cubs during the last four months of the season and proved he belonged in the big leagues. A 55:15 K:BB ratio helped contribute to a 2.72 ERA and 1.165 WHIP in just 46.1 innings. He had a particularly-good six-week midsummer run when he got six holds and his only save, but despite pitching well the rest of the way, he only got one more hold, indicating that his team maybe didn't trust him in key situations. With a new manager in town and no established closer signed yet, Parker could get the opportunity to win the ninth-inning job, so keep an eye on him this spring.

The Cubs' Triple-A closer, Parker struck out 58 in just 51 innings and racked up 22 saves. He also did a fine job of keeping the ball in the park with just three home runs allowed. His biggest weakness is command - 27 walks is higher than we would like, but so long as the ball stays in the park, and the strikeouts are there, we can live with it. He'll vie for a bullpen role this spring with the big-league club.

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Reassigned to minor-league camp

PSt. Louis Cardinals

April 1, 2022

Parker was reassigned to minor-league spring training Friday.