Bobby Parnell

2013

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2012

Following the trade of Francisco Rodriguez to Milwaukee, Parnell had a chance to take the job as closer and run with it, but he spit the bit. Parnell went on to blow six of his 12 save opportunities, as his high-90s fastball appears to lack the movement needed to be a dominant closer and he doesn't have a true off-speed pitch. In addition, his struggles with command and control resulted in too many hitters' counts and fat pitches, leading to his .351 BABIP. The acquisition of Ramon Ramirez, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco by the Mets in December means that Parnell will either open the year in middle relief or back at Triple-A.

2011

Because of Parnell's high-90s fastball and inability to consistently throw his secondary pitches for strikes, the Mets decided that Parnell is better suited to a relief role. Parnell failed to make the parent club out of spring training last season, but pitched well enough at Triple-A to earn a mid-June promotion, posting a 42:17 K:BB ratio in 41.1 innings. For the most part, Parnell was dominant with the Mets, as seven of the 11 earned runs he allowed in 41 games and 35 innings came in two appearances. Parnell showed much better control with a 33:8 K:BB ratio and had a major uptick in his G/F ratio, before being shut down with 12 games to go due to inflammation of the plica in his right elbow. He is expected to be 100 percent healthy by spring training and should fill a prominent role in the Mets' bullpen.

2010

Parnell had a brilliant spring, then carried that success over into the season with a dominant first two months, taking over as the primary eighth-inning reliever in June. He flamed out in that role, but rebounded to have a scoreless July and was moved into the rotation in August. Parnell went 1-5 with a 7.93 ERA in eight starts following the switch and ended the year back in the bullpen. While Parnell returned to starting in winter ball, it seems highly unlikely that he will be in the 2010 Opening Day rotation. With his inability to consistently throw his secondary pitches for strikes and his high-90s fastball, Parnell appears to be better suited to a relief role, which is where he will likely be this season.

2009

Parnell has one of the best power arms in the Mets' system, combining a low-to-mid 90's sinking fastball, hard slider and changeup that is a work in progress to get outs. He got off to a slow start - his ERA was above six at the end of April - but finished strong, posting a 4.30 ERA for Double-A Binghamton to earn a brief promotion to Triple-A and then the majors. Parnell struggled as a starter at Triple-A but pitched better out of the pen in the majors and is penciled in to open 2009 as a member of the team's revamped bullpen, where his control will determine if he remains in that role.