The Oakland Athletics may be a franchise in transition, but the club has a nice stockpile of young talent coming through the Minor Leagues to build around for years to come. When they gave up Trevor Cahill to the Diamondbacks, they received multiple prospects, most notably starting pitcher Jarrod Parker. The 20-year old pitcher has the potential to be a front-end starter at the next level and many believe he could be a Rookie Of The Year candidate in 2012.
Keith Law is among those who are expecting big things from Parker and listed him as a potential breakout candidate this upcoming year.
Here is the article from Law:
4. Jarrod Parker, RHP | Top 100 rank -- 31: I like Parker as a stealth Rookie of the Year candidate, pitching in a good ballpark in front of a solid defense with four pitches, including a two-seamer to get ground balls, a harder four-seamer and a potentially plus changeup to miss bats.
Parker could probably benefit from some more time in the Minor Leagues to refine his approach, but it sounds like the A's are intent on having him in Oakland for at least some of the season. Regardless of where he spends the 2012 season, Athletics fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming years.
For more on the team, head on over to Athletics Nation.