Mitchell Parker looks like he’s going to win the battle to be the Nationals’ fifth starter, bumping DJ Herz, Shinnosuke Ogasawara, and any others in the mix to either Triple-A or the bullpen – and as much as he’s had maybe the best results this spring, he, as did Herz, the lefty showed last year he could hack it in the bigs after posting a 4.29 ERA in 151 innings over 29 starts.
Parker was also a Top 30 Nats prospect when he was brought up last year to be part of the young rotation, but as he told Grant & Danny Friday at camp, he never let his status, or last season’s results, interfere with his mindset that he still had to work for everything.
“I mean, I never really paid attention to any of it. I was never really anything special, if that's right word, coming out of junior college, but it’s the same baseball game we’re all playing,” Parker said. “So, I just kept the head down and focused on playing our game, and luckily it worked out – and hoping to do it for a while.”
Listen to Parker’s entire visit with G&D above!