PCL: Parraz, Royals play their cards right in gamble

Jordan Parraz is from Las Vegas, so maybe he just knows good odds when he sees them.

After high school in 2003, Parraz turned down a $250,000 signing bonus as a sixth-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Phillies because he didn't want to be a pitcher. A year later, after one season at the College of Southern Nevada, he got $400,000 as an outfielder drafted by Houston in the third round.

“It wasn't an easy decision, but you want to feel good about where you're going,” he said. “You don't want to start out your career on that note, when you don't really want to be a pitcher.

“It wound up being a good decision.”

And it looks like the Kansas City Royals made a good decision to trade for him last winter. They dealt pitcher Tyler Lumsden, who struggled for two years with Class AAA Omaha, to Houston for Parraz, who had never played above Class A.

Lumsden since has been demoted to Class AA, where he has a 7.11 ERA. Parraz, meanwhile, rolled through the Class AA Texas League and was promoted to Omaha last week, and will be the Royals' regular right fielder. His overall average of .352 is third best among all minor leaguers, as is his overall on-base percentage of .444.

The trade, he says, was welcome news.

“I didn't think Houston ever really gave me the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “I played every day, but I never got a chance to really move up or get a confidence boost. It's a good organization, but I think this one is a little better — especially for me fitting in.”

Parraz is back in Omaha Wednesday as the Royals kick off an eight-game homestand at Rosenblatt Stadium. First up is Wednesday's 7:05 game against Las Vegas, giving Parraz a chance to face his hometown team.

Parraz attended some 51s games as a kid, and many Pacific Coast League players enjoy heading out to Las Vegas for a series. But Parraz would like to avoid it. Omaha doesn't play again in Las Vegas until next year, and Parraz hopes to be in the major leagues by then.

If he can keep up the pace he has set this year, perhaps he will be. In late June he was hitting .358 with seven homers and 42 RBIs in 64 games for Class AA Northwest Arkansas, with an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage), of 1.005. But then a hamstring injury knocked him out for a month.

“They started calling guys up,” he said, “but right when they started doing that I got hurt.”

After a quick four-game tuneup in short-season ball, Parraz finally got his promotion. It's not the best of hands to be dealt — moving up a level while at the same time shaking off rust from not seeing live pitching.

After an 0-for-10 start with Omaha, Parraz went 7 for 11 and was hitting .292 through Monday. “It may take him awhile offensively,” Omaha manager Mike Jirschele said. “But he's a good outfielder with a very strong arm.”

No one ever forgot about the 96 mph fastball Parraz could throw in junior college, where he pitched more than played outfield but was his team's regular designated hitter.

In 2006, his third season, the Astros had him repeat short season Class A ball. He hit .336 in 70 games.

“After my first couple of years they kind of asked me about (pitching),” Parraz said. “They said, ‘You throw really hard,' and I said, ‘But I can hit.' They were kind of joking around, but they were kind of serious, too. I knew I had to get going.

“Then I had a breakout year in the New York-Penn League, and they didn't ask me about it again.”

Contact the writer:

444-1027, rob.white@owh.com