Pitching Style
Parker throws five pitches. His main pitch is a four-seam fastball thrown 92-95 mph that he throws for about half of his pitches. He also has a two-seam fastball at 90-94. His main off-speed pitch is a changeup in the low 80s, and he also has a slider and occasional curveball. The two-seamer and changeup are used primarily on left-handed hitters, as their movement tails away toward the outside corner. Likewise, Parker does not use his two-seamer to right-handers at all, and he only uses his slider against right-handers. Parker uses his changeup heavily in 2-strike counts.
Parker describes 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.
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