Parra Fills Final Void in Brewers Rotation

March 27, 2008 @ 04:20:25

By Herija C. Green
Edited by Ryan Dodson

The Milwaukee Brewers' once seemingly unsolvable rotation dilemma has finally begun to crystallize with the release of starter Claudio Vargas and the likely season-ending injury to pitcher Chris Capuano (elbow). Capuano has a torn ligament in his pitching elbow and is facing the prospect of a second Tommy John surgery. Those facts, combined with the fact that starter Yovani Gallardo (knee) is not expected back from arthroscopic knee surgery until mid-April, looks to leave the club with their five-man rotation set. Pitcher Ben Sheets has been announced as the opening day starter and is expected to be followed by pitchers Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush, Carlos Villanueva and Manny Parra.

Outside of Sheets and Gallardo, the one that seems to have the most potential to make a fantasy impact this season is Parra. The 25-year-old lefty made a name for himself by pitching a perfect game for Triple-A Nashville last year in just his second outing at that level. He was promoted less than a month later and made nine appearances for the Brewers last season, posting a 3.76 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 26 1/3 innings. He then suffered a broken thumb while trying to lay down a bunt in late August and did not pitch again in 2007.

This year, Parra entered the spring as seemingly the long shot of the five starters competing for two spots at the back end of the Brewers rotation. However, Parra pitched brilliantly early in spring training, posting a 0.64 ERA with 15 strikeouts in his first 14 innings to put himself firmly in the discussion. The injury to Gallardo opened up a third spot in the rotation - albeit a temporary one - and Capuano's injury left the team with just four starters competing for three spots. Parra struggled badly in his next two outings, allowing 13 runs in 6 2/3 innings to see his ERA jump from 0.64 to 6.10. However, manager Ned Yost and the rest of the Brewers staff had seen enough, and the release of Vargas essentially ensures Parra will be part of Milwaukee's rotation to open the season.

On the bump, Parra is largely a power pitcher, pumping his four-seam fastball in the mid-90s and a two-seamer in the low-90s. He also works a changeup and curveball into the mix, both of which he locates well. Parra generally has very good control and is a quality strikeout pitcher, though he walks more batters than his level of control suggests he should. Durability is a bit of an issue for Parra, who has never tossed more than 139 innings in a season and underwent rotator cuff surgery in 2005. The belief is that the Brewers will be cautious with Parra and could cap his innings at around 150-160 this year.

Parra is set to begin the year as the fifth starter, but don't read too much into that as it could be a byproduct of wanting to keep his innings down. However, someone will need to come out of the rotation when Gallardo returns, and that someone figures to be either Parra or Villanueva. Despite Villanueva working out of the bullpen for much of 2007, the team has announced it will keep reliever Seth McClung, which doesn't leave a bullpen spot for Villanueva or Parra. That means one of them is likely ticketed for Nashville. Working in Parra's favor is the fact that he is the only left-hander in Milwaukee's rotation, though Villanueva was brilliant as a starter last September and this spring.

In terms of fantasy value, Parra is an interesting commodity in that he has the upside to win 10-plus games, post good ERA and WHIP ratios and could record about a strikeout per inning. Playing on a strong offensive club in a shaky division also works in his favor. On the flipside, he is slated to pitch at the bottom of the rotation. With the club expected to monitor his innings he could leave some potential wins on the board by departing games earlier than he might otherwise have done. A more immediate concern is the possibility he could be the one out of a job when Gallardo returns. At this point, Parra is someone who should be owned in all NL-only leagues despite the uncertainties as he has a lot of upside in that more restrictive talent pool. Deeper mixed league owners may also want to use a late-round pick on Parra to see how things develop, while those in shallower leagues should take a wait-and-see approach with the young lefty. 

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Herija C. Green

Herija is a graduate from California State University - San Marcos. He was a contributing writer and editor with KFFL.com

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