Jordan Parraz, a member of the Appy League Championship 2004 Greeneville Astros, is heading to play winter ball in Venezuela, according to beisbolvenezolano.com. Let's take this time to find out what Parraz has been up to since he left Greeneville in 2004.
Parraz spent 2005 & 2006 in Tri Cities. He broke out in 06 and was named a NYPenn League All Star and a Baseball America Short Season League All Star. He spent 2007 in the Sally League with Lexington. He continued to raise eyebrows with his strong throws from right field. His bat wasn't too bad either as he hit 28 doubles and 14 HR that season. The Astros moved him to Salem in 2008, where he had another solid year.
In the off season between 2007 & 2008, with Tal Smith taking over for Tim Purpura as GM/President of the Astros, change was in the air. Parraz was traded that off season to the Royals as the "player to be named later" for reliever Tyler Lumsden. This was seen to some degree as a change of scenery trade. Rumors circulated Parraz and the Minor League people in the Astros' front office had not always gotten along well. This trade has worked in the Royals favor. Parraz had a great 2009 in the Texas League hitting a career high .358 in an injury shortened season. Parraz then went to AAA in 2010 where he had a roller coaster year highlighted by hitting .353 with an OPS of 1.005 in the month of May. Meanwhile, Lumsden was traded to the Padres for "future considerations". I don't think they will be getting a player the quality of Parraz back for him. In fact, they will likely get cash in return.
Parraz is currently on the Royals 40 man roster. If he remains on the roster, he will be attending big league spring training in February. If he is taken off the 40 man, he would be a likely candidate to be snatched up in the Rule 5 draft in December. A good showing in Venezuela won't hurt him either way, that is for sure.
A personal story about Jordan:
In 2007, my son & I went to Asheville To watch the Legends play the Tourists. We got their early and had time to catch up with several of the former Greeneville Astros including Jordan. Later in the game, Jordan knocked a ball over the LF fence. The ball was retrieved by one of the bullpen pitchers, and returned to Jordan. Jordan then flipped the ball to my son. Needless to say, our family is a fan of Jordan Parraz.
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