Zachary Parker

Zachary Thomas Parker

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.

• School San Jacinto College

• Born August 19, 1981 in Paris, TX USA

BR Minors page

Zachary Parker pitched as high as AAA.

Parker was picked by the Colorado Rockies in the 21st round of the 2000 amateur draft as a draft-and-follow. He made his pro debut in 2001 with the Casper Rockies, looking unimpressive at 1-2, 7.52 with a .388 opponent average. The left-hander was much better with the 2002 Asheville Tourists, going 16-7 with a 4.01 ERA and 119 strikeouts. He led all Rockies farmhands in wins and also led the South Atlantic League. One negative was 174 hits allowed, tied for the SAL lead. Zach tied Ryan Madson for third in the affiliated minors in wins.

In 2003, Parker had a 5-5, 3.69 record for the Visalia Oaks. The next year, he went 4-8 with a 5.84 ERA for the Tulsa Drillers. The Texan hurler returned to Tulsa in 2005 and improved to 12-10, 3.79. He hit 18 batters to lead the Texas League but was 9th in ERA, right behind Kasey Olenberger.

Zachary ran into unexpected control trouble in 2006 when he did not fare well for either Tulsa (2-2, 10.24, 33 BB in 29 IP) or the AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox (2-6, 6.63). He walked 72 in 86 innings for the year, a far cry from his 35 in 161 2/3 IP a year prior.

In 2007, Parker started slowly for Tulsa, going 2-1 with a 6.55 ERA and 25 walks in 33 innings. That earned him his release from the Colorado organization.

Zach then signed with the independent Lancaster Barnstormers and went 6-1 with a 2.49 ERA for a sub-.500 club; had he qualified, he would have paced the Atlantic League in ERA. After a 2-0, 1.32 start to 2008 for Lancaster, Parker drew the interest of the Texas Rangers, who signed him.

The Rangers sent Parker to the Frisco RoughRiders - in 27 games for them, he turned in a solid effort with a 3-1, 3.39 record. His control was not back to pre-2006 levels but was much better than in 2006 with 41 walks in 74 1/3 IP.

Parker spent 2009 with the Barnstormers, going 4-6 with a 4.05 ERA. He was 8th in the Atlantic League in ERA.

For 2010, Parker signed with Taiwan's La New Bears. He made his debut on March 26, a day after Chris Mason, and was bombed even more than his fellow American. He surrendered five walks to the nine batters he faced and was charged with 4 runs in 1 1/3 IP. He threw 25 of his 40 pitches for balls. He was no better in his next start, April 3, against the Sinon Bulls, surrendering four more runs and four walks in one inning. He was promptly released in favor of fellow Texan Luis Villarreal.

Sources

• 2001-2010 Baseball Almanacs
• Chinese Wiki Baseball