Parker completes unexpected rookie year with strong start

Asked if he could remember the last time he made a behind-the-back play in the field like the one he pulled off in the top of the first Tuesday night, Mitchell Parker laughed.

“A long time ago,” he said. “High school.”

And what did Parker think when he realized he had somehow snagged Freddy Fermin’s 98-mph comebacker in such stunning fashion?

“Oh geez, now I’ve got to get it to first base,” he said with another laugh.

Credit the 24-year-old Nationals left-hander for having a keen sense of self-deprecation. He knows how many times he has botched much easier plays in the field than this one, leading to his reputation as one of the worst-fielding pitchers in club history. He also knows he has the ability to get better at it, and Tuesday’s web gem was the best example of that yet.

It came in Parker’s 29th and final start of the season, which also happened to be one of his most effective. He held the Royals scoreless over five innings, and though he needed 91 pitches to get there, there was no harping over the end result.

“I thought he threw the ball really well,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He got out of a heck of a first inning there, made an unbelievable play. But after that first inning, he really settled down and controlled the strike zone well. They’ve got some pretty good hitters – those one through four hitters are pretty good – but he got through it and pitched well.”

Parker wound up with no decision because his teammates couldn’t provide any run support, but he ended his first big league season with a respectable 7-10 record, 4.29 ERA and 1.305 WHIP. Most impressively, he totaled 151 innings, no small achievement for a rookie.

“To be able to get that many innings this year is awesome,” he said. “Like we said when I got here, I just wanted to make every start I can and stay healthy, get as many innings as possible. So being able to do it is huge.”

Parker was on the Nationals’ radar entering the season, having pitched in his first major league camp during the spring. But he figured to get the call sometime during the summer, and maybe for only a short stint.

Then Josiah Gray went down two starts into his season with an elbow injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery. And because Jackson Rutledge, who was designated all along to be the first starter called up from Triple-A Rochester, had suffered a minor ankle injury and was no longer available, it was Parker who got the surprise call from the Nats to make his debut April 15 at Dodger Stadium.

The fifth round pick in the 2020 Draft proceeded to strike out Mookie Betts to begin his career, then later struck out Shohei Ohtani while allowing two runs over five innings. He became the Nationals’ first rookie starter to win his major league debut since Stephen Strasburg in 2010.

And then he would go on to make 28 more starts and post solid numbers, establishing himself as a member of this rotation heading into 2025. Did the Nats see all that happening at the end of spring training?

“Uh … I’m going to say maybe,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Because the stuff is really good. The biggest thing I was afraid of was him losing the strike zone. And when things got awry, that’s what happened.”

Indeed, Parker had some blowup starts along the way. Four times he allowed five or more runs without completing at least four innings. He was torched by the Phillies for nine runs. He gave up five runs to the Brewers and couldn’t even get out of the bottom of the first.

But he also completed at least six innings in 13 of his 29 starts. And he allowed three or fewer earned runs in 19 of those 29 starts.

In some ways, it was reminiscent of Jake Irvin’s rookie season in 2023, when the unheralded right-hander surprisingly made 24 big league starts and finished with a 4.61 ERA and 1.421 WHIP. Irvin took a major step forward this year, winning 10 games with a 4.22 ERA and 1.184 WHIP, making an All-Star case for himself during an impressive first half.

Parker may not progress next year the same way Irvin did this year, but he did prove he could hold up to the rigors of a major league season. He was far more than most could’ve imagined he’d be, and he’ll head home for the winter with his head held high.

“It’s definitely going to be feeling good going into the offseason,” he said. “I learned a lot about what we’re going to have to work on to come into next year even stronger, even better.”