Bobby Parnell is not the same pitcher

Bobby Parnell is a bit of an easy target after failing to record an out in the tenth inning and giving up the go ahead run to the Pirates last night. That the game got to Parnell in extra innings because the team failed to cash in on scoring opportunities is a separate issue, but Parnell hasn’t exactly been a beacon of light since returning from a 14-month rehabilitation after Tommy John (TJ) surgery.

Since returning to the Mets on June 11th, Parnell has thrown 18.2 innings over 22 games. His ERA sits at 4.82, though his FIP is a bit better at 3.64. While not great, those numbers aren’t alarmingly bad. His other peripherals, on the other hand, paint a picture of a pitcher that is certainly not back to his old form. His atrocious 1.714 WHIP bespeaks the incredible amount of contact he’s given up (10.6 H/9) and the high number of walks (4.8 BB%) he’s issued so far. His K% of 4.8 is also the lowest of his career.

To be fair, 18.2 innings isn’t exactly a large sample, even for a reliever. But it’s not just his results that are way out of whack from his best years of 2012-2013. The velocities for all of his pitches are down this year, which isn’t really much of a surprise. That goes for both the average speed and the top speed for each of them. What’s more interesting is the change in the usage of his pitches.

Parnell threw both his four-seam fastball and his sinker just about equally in 2012 and 2013. In 2012 it was 36.18% for the four-seamer and 37.61% for the sinker, while in 2013 it was 38.65% for the four-seamer and 32.68% for the sinker. In 2015, he’s only thrown his four-seamer 13.40% of the time and his sinker 60.48% of the time. That’s a remarkable difference in what he’s throwing at hitters, and it doesn’t seem to be working too well for him. Worse, the batting average against his sinker is .348. He’s just not fooling anybody right now.

Why has he thrown so few four-seamers? Could it be that he simply is afraid of injuring himself again? Perhaps he’s just not all that confident in it these days? Sure, he’s not throwing it quite as hard as he used to, but that’s to be expected so close to his return from surgery. Additionally, the vertical movement on both of these pitches is not quite as stark as in years past. Maybe he just hasn’t gotten the feel for his arsenal back yet, which brings us to his readiness to return.

There was absolutely nothing in his rehab assignment to suggest that he was remotely close to being ready to return. If his 0-4 record with an 11.57 ERA and 14 walks wasn’t bad enough, surely his 92 MPH fastball velocity should have raised some flags. Unfortunately, the team was essentially backed into a corner once his 30-day rehab clock expired. Parnell’s service time meant that he could reject a demotion to the minors to continue working his way back. Additionally, the major league pen was facing several problems of its own. The team, it appears, brought him back out of necessity rather than because he was actually ready.

The fact of the matter is that Parnell has not been the same pitcher either in approach or results since his return. This should not be a surprise considering he’s working his way back from TJ surgery. We’ve been spoiled by the almost immediate success of Matt Harvey after the same surgery, but not all pitchers return so fast and so spectacularly. Most don’t, actually. What this means is that Terry Collins simply cannot trust Parnell in high-leverage situations at this point. That is until, and if, he starts showing signs of being the pitcher he once was and regains some of the confidence that his fastball usage indicates he currently lacks.