Mike Parisi: The Newest St. Louis Cardinal

On Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals optioned the much-maligned Anthony Reyes to Triple-A Memphis and called up pitcher Mike Parisi. A starter at Memphis, he will serve as a long man in the Cardinal bullpen and also as a spot starter should Joel Pineiro's back start barking.

Selected in the ninth round out of Manhattan College, Parisi is 2-1 with a 4.41 ERA in six starts for Triple-A Memphis. Known as a groundball machine, Parisi has a 1.85 to 1 groundball to flyball ratio. In 32.2 innings, he has 23 to 13 strikeout to walk ratio and hitters are batting .287 against him.

Of the batters he has faced, over 16% have been left shaking their head as they go back to the dugout after just striking out. Of the balls put in play, 61% are hit on the ground.

During spring training 2008, Parisi caught Cardinals' pitching coach Dave Duncan's eye with his heavy sinking fastball and spike curveball. His changeup is a work in progress. Early in his minor league career, Parisi worried about striking out batters but realized to make it to the big leagues he knew he would need to tone down his velocity so he could get more sink on his pitches.

In his last outing, Parisi allowed seven runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts in only four innings against a red-hot Salt Lake City team. Of the 10 hits, five were for extra bases. (Of note, SLC is now 25-5 and one 21 of its first 22 games)

Going into the 2008 season, Parisi held a career record of 32-35 with a 4.33 ERA in 95 career starts. He has yet to miss a start in his pro career and has thrown over 150 innings in a season three straight seasons.

After the 2007 season, Parisi was added to the club's 40-man roster and was ranked by the Birdhouse as the number 35 prospect in the Cardinals system. In our 40 Days, 40 Nights, 40 Prospects series, here is what I wrote:

For me, there is just nothing with Parisi that excites me. In his minor league career he has given up almost 10 hits per nine innings with a WHIP of 1.46. He doesn't really help himself out of jams either with only 409 strikeouts in 552 career minor league innings. I know the Cardinals like his sinker but these are not minor league numbers that translate to success in the Majors.

In his three seasons at Manhattan College, Parisi posted a record of 14-16 with 272 strikeouts in 243.2 innings. He finished career as the Jaspers career strikeout leader.

Feel free to contact me at dustin@whiteyball.com.