Mike Parisi

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #23 prospect in 2008
  Parisi cruised through his first two pro seasons, flipping his dandy curveball with abandon. When he arrived in Double-A in 2006 and struggled, he pulled out a pen and started keeping notes. He realized he couldn't thrive on a curve and a desire to strike everyone out. His numbers in Triple-A are a bit deceiving, as they reflect a pitcher undone by a weak team, and a season featuring a few terrible performances rather than consistently mediocre outings. Parisi can fire his fastball in the low 90s, and he has become willing to give up velocity in order to gain downward movement on his sinker. He still has the plunging curve that was his hammer as a strikeout king for Manhattan--he holds the Jaspers career record with 272 in 244 innings--and his changeup showed progress last season. He has yet to miss a scheduled start as a pro and has thrown at least 150 innings in three consecutive seasons. Parisi still finds too much of the strike zone with too many of his pitches, but durability and overall effectiveness have him on a short list to get the call from Triple-A if the big league club needs a starter. St. Louis added him to its 40-man roster in November.
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  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #26 prospect in 2006
  Parisi was noted for his strikeouts during his college career, as he twice broke the Manhattan record for strikeouts in a season and set the school's career mark as well (272 in 244 innings). However, he doesn't have the stuff to be a strikeout pitcher as a professional. What he does have is a determined approach and a good feel for pitching that could allow him to pitch in the middle of a rotation. Parisi consistently throws his fastball at 92-93 mph with good movement, and his curveball is also a potentially above-average pitch if he becomes more consistent with it. His changeup shows potential, but he still doesn't use it enough. He has a bulldog makeup on the mound and won't give in to hitters. That works to his detriment at times, as he gives up too many hits. He needs to sharpen his command to keep the ball out of the hitting zone. Parisi also has to focus on staying on top of the ball and throwing downhill. He pitched better last season after a midseason promotion to high Class A, so he'll move up to Double-A to open 2006.
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  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #17 prospect in 2005
  Parisi was a strikeout machine at Manhattan, setting the school record for strikeouts in a season as a sophomore (87 in 77 innings) before breaking it as a junior (104 in 81 innings) and adding the career standard (272 in 244 innings) for good measure. He moved quickly after signing for $60,000, reaching low Class A after seven starts and taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his first start there. Parisi shows a good feel for pitching along with three quality pitches: a fastball that sits in the low 90s, peaks at 94 mph and shows good life; a downer curveball; and a developing changeup. He's a competitor who works hard and is focused on the mound. He has to refine his command as well as his delivery, which has some effort to it. But he has upside and should open 2005 in the high Class A rotation.