Bennett Parry: Independent League Pitcher To Look Out For

 

Image Courtesy of LI Ducks 

  Major League teams have had a history of scouting Independent baseball leagues in search of additional talent to add onto their organization. Some recent successful Indy alumni have spanned from names like Rich Hill, Mickey Jannis and David Peralta. One name that could be added to this list of names? How about Bennett Parry.
   Parry is a 26 year old minor league lifer, and after pitching in the American Association for the past two seasons, he joined the Long Island Ducks this past season after a fantastic 2017. Now, I didn't discover Parry simply from him pitching for the Ducks, but because I noticed that he has been having quite the season so far.

   The lefty currently has been having a great season for the Ducks, as he has a 2.02 ERA and a 2.65 FIP. His success has been fueled by his strikeout rate, which is currently at an astronomical 12.9 K/9, and a 35.7 K%.

   Now, these rates are truly great, and would overall translate to the Majors as roughly a 8.82 K/9 and a 24.4% K rate in the Majors. I came up with this by way of Clay Davenports DT translated statistics page, and found that strikeout ability/rate decreases by about 31.6% from the Atlantic League to the Majors.

   These aren't bad at all, and one would figure that he can make an impact out of the bullpen suppressing contact and inducing swings and misses. Parry has also shown that he can eat innings, as he has been a starter throughout his pro career, and I believe would be a great candidate to be an opener (which I mentioned the concept of openers in a previous article).

   In terms of Parry's arsenal, there isn't much recent video, but I was able to find broadcast footage of his May 17th start. I clocked his fastball at the 88 to 92 MPH range, and he was able to get swings and misses on the pitch, suggesting that it could be a high spin fastball.

   He has a solid change, and gets decent sink and arm-side fade. I had the pitch clocked between 77-80 mph. It's tough to get a gage for his other pitches considering it was an overhead view, but his change definitely was noticeable (which is a testament to the effectiveness of the pitch). Either way, one can tell that it darts at the last minute, and the late break on the pitch gives it a chance to be an effective one.

   Parry also has a nice looking offspeed pitch, and looks to be a slider. I clocked it around 80-83 mph, and has some good sweep. It's not as effective of a pitch as the changeup, but is a trustable pitch, and probably would grade out to be an average Major League pitch.

   So overall, Parry is a pitcher with a nice three pitch arsenal that won't blow anyone away, but can manage to coax swings and misses, and with the success he's had throughout pro ball in his career (including affiliated ball with the Orioles), it seems to me that he will transition nicely to affiliated baseball.

   This is a short article meant to detail the fact that I believe Parry's standout season for the Ducks will almost certainly lead to his contract being purchased by a Major League team very soon. I'm of the belief that he should start off in either Double A or Triple A with the mid-set that he is a hot stretch away from a big league call up.

   Considering teams have to go through a grueling 162 game season and deal with the dog days of summer, there is a need for bodies to occupy the pitching staff. Teams will not want/should not to rush prized prospects to the Majors unless they are fully ready, so there will be a need to bring up perhaps not as coveted future assets. On top of that, perhaps teams can see if that player can cut it in the big leagues.

   With all of this in mind, that is exactly why I think the Mets should purchase Parry's contract and give him a shot. Parry reminds me a decent bit of other Mets lefty longman, Sean Gilmartin.

   That's admittedly not the sexiest comp, but Gilmartin did catch lightning in a bottle with the Mets back in 2015 as a lefty swingman, and I think that Parry possesses a similar skillset. With no clear lefty for the Mets to entrust past Jerry Blevins (and even he's been struggling so far this year), it can't hurt to bring Parry in on what would be a slam dunk prediction of a minor league deal and eventually, the Major League minimum on salary.