September 5, 2018
Parkinson's 1.45 ERA is the lowest in the minor leagues and the fourth-lowest minor-league full-season ERA since 2005,
Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
The only pitchers to record a lower ERA in the minors over that span are Justin Verlander, Blake Snell and Diamondbacks prospect Jon Duplantier. Parkinson, a 12th-round pick in 2017, doesn't have much prospect hype, but his performances over 124.1 innings with Low-A Lakewood and High-A Clearwater have been excellent. He backed up his excellent ERA with a 10.2 K/9 and a 2.5 BB/9 and gave up just five home runs all season. The lefty doesn't project to have any plus pitches, so he still looks like a back-end starter at best, but he's at least done all he can to put himself on the map.