John Sickels from Minor League Ball posted his Top 20 Arizona Diamondback prospects last night, and there is no question as to who their top prospect is-Jarrod Parker. Parker missed all of 2010 recovering from Tommy John surgery. When healthy, he is considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.
Here is what he had to say about Parker:
Jarrod Parker, RHP, Grade B: My policy is to be cautious with grades following a serious injury until we see actual game performance, not just reports from instructional league. That said, Parker is still the best prospect in the system.
The pitcher with the greatest upside is clearly Parker, though I am conservative on the grade until we see him in real games. If his command is back to pre-injury standards, he would move up to Grade B+, if not A-, pretty fast in 2011.
Head on over to Minor League Ball to check out his comments on the rest of the Top 20 Diamondbacks for 2011.