The Secret to Jarrod Parker’s Success

Just a few days ago I wrote that you should drop Jarrod Parker. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ll refresh your memory: Parker has been a revelation for Oakland. He’s been so good that it’s rather surprising he’s owned in just 42 percent of fantasy leagues. He also has a 2.41 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in three September starts, so it might be more surprising that I’m telling you to drop him. But the problem with Parker isn’t his performance, it’s his opponents. Then Parker had to go and dominate the Yankees at Yankee Stadium to the tune of just one earned run, six hits, zero walks, and seven strikeouts over eight pristine frames. Despite pitching so well, I still maintain that I’d rather not start Parker in his outing at Texas, but now I would definitely start him in his final home start of the year against the Rangers. I love writing about pitchers, so I thought I’d take a look at exactly why Parker has been so good and, by extension, if this is success we can expect as enters year two ...