Louisville commit Parker Detmers following MLB brother’s path
CHATHAM, Ill. (BVM) – Parker Detmers is still just a junior at Chatham Glenwood High School. But for a few years now, he has already had his baseball future set, committing to Louisville before even stepping foot on the diamond in high school.
“I went down to a camp at Louisville and the coaches really liked what they saw,” Detmers said. “Louisville has always been my second home … it’s just always been my No. 1 option.”
After committing to Louisville in 2019, Detmers was poised for a strong freshman season on the diamond. Coming off the conclusion of his first year of high school basketball, the pitcher got two weeks into practice with the Titans until the 2020 season was canceled.
“I was really bummed out because I was really ready to get into the season,” Detmers said. “Coming off of basketball, I had been working out, felt really strong. Then two weeks into practice we get the call that the season is canceled.”
However, Detmers did find a silver lining to the Covid pause, as he was able to put in more work to fine tune each of his pitches, setting himself up for success during the remainder of his high school career.
Making a seamless transition to high school baseball as a sophomore, Detmers went 5-3 on the mound with a 2.60 ERA and 45 strikeouts.
“My goals going into the season were to try and not do too much and just get outs,” Detmers said. “I just wanted to go out there and compete and help my team out.”
Although the Titans struggled to start the season, the team nearly made super sectionals in 2021, inspiring confidence for a deeper run this spring.
“My expectations this year were to go out there and dominate every hitter that I can,” Detmers said.
Although he has admittedly had some ups and downs, Detmers has put up numbers on a similar pace to last season, helping the Titans to a solid start to the campaign. He continues to display a bright future, one that has long been in the making.
The Detmers last name is already familiar to many baseball fans, beginning with Parker’s father, Kris, who played minor league baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization. Throughout Parker’s baseball career, he has been able to take away a lot from his father, helping him get to the level he’s at today.
“It’s been a really big help,” Parker said. “Him playing in the minors, it really shows us how hard we have to work to achieve our goals. Him helping me with pitching and how to control everything is also a big help.”
Meanwhile, Parker has also gotten to grow up in the sport with a pair of older brothers. The closest in age to him is Drew, who is currently a sophomore pitcher at Millikin University.
“Since me and him are closer in age, we just grew up competing with each other, being able to play catch with each other and working on things with each other,” Parker said. “He’s really smart … He knows the game a lot and he really knows how to pitch.”
However, the member of the Detmers family that most people are probably familiar with at this point is Reid. After starting his high school career at Nokomis, Reid transferred to Chatham Glenwood for his senior season where he racked up a single-season best 153 strikeouts. Over his four years of high school he went an impressive 27-5, and he was selected in the 2017 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves.
Despite the MLB opportunity, Reid opted to honor his commitment to Louisville where his game got even better. Across his career with the Cardinals, Reid moved into the top five of the program’s all-time strikeout list and the top 10 for all-time wins. In 2020, Reid was drafted into the MLB once again, this time being picked No. 10 overall by the Los Angeles Angels.
A call and a moment I'll never forget. I'm so excited to join the @Angels organization!#MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/77lNf2Ixa5
— Reid Detmers (@RDetmers) June 11, 2020
Rising the ranks quickly in the minors, Reid was called up to make his MLB debut last August, and earned his first professional win just a couple of weeks later. This season, he has gone 2-1 with a 3.77 ERA and 20 strikeouts in his first full MLB campaign.
However, the highlight of Reid’s young pro career thus far came on May 10 when he threw a no-hitter in a 12-0 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays, becoming the youngest pitcher in Angels’ franchise history to do so, and just the 25th MLB rookie to ever pitch a no-hitter.
What a moment!
A no-hitter for Reid Detmers!
(MLB x @budweiserusa) pic.twitter.com/UZ9ohyejRd
— MLB (@MLB) May 11, 2022
Throughout his baseball career, Reid has always served as a role model for his younger brothers to look up to as well, and is yet another family member Parker has been able to learn plenty from.
“My first memories are going to my oldest brother’s games when I was really young,” Parker said. “Me and him, we text a lot. Just watching him growing up, it really made me love the game because of how much work he put into it and how much he succeeded in it. Just being able to talk to him about things and what we need to work on has been a really big help.”
Of course, having a brother who stars at the collegiate level, becomes a top-10 draft pick and gets called up to the big leagues early on in his pro career doesn’t happen too often. But for Parker, it has been not only surreal, but beneficial to watch as he tries to do the same some day.
“It’s been really awesome for our family,” Parker added. “It just opens up a lot more opportunities for all of us.”
There is no doubt Reid has a high ceiling as he continues to acclimate to the big leagues. Parker is excited to see where his career might go someday, but also hopes he can possibly join his brother at that level.
“I feel like his potential could be really high because all that kid does is work,” Parker said. “He just knows how to work, he competes and he loves to compete. If I can join him in the MLB, that would be awesome.
“I think this dream really started my first time playing baseball. One of my first memories was telling one of my friends that we were going to make it to the big leagues because I thought everyone made it to the big leagues. Now I see how much work you have to put in to become just a minor league player, or even college. It’d be really awesome if I could play in the big leagues for 10 or more years, maybe become an All-Star and just a household name that people know.”
Someone who has played the sport their whole life, making it to the pros would indeed be a dream come true for Parker. A poised pitcher on the mound, the 17-year-old has long shown flashes of brilliance, going back to a game during his youth where he struck out every batter he faced.
“That’s when I started realizing I had a little bit of potential in the game,” Parker mentioned.
That same potential has shown on the biggest stages years later, such as last year’s Area Code Games, where Parker got to pitch against many of his future Division I baseball counterparts.
“It was awesome being able to go out there with a bunch of DI commits, just meeting everyone, how their story is, what they’ve done and how much they’ve worked to get here,” Parker said about the Area Code Games. “Pitching there was very fun.”
And of course, as much as Parker has looked up to Drew and Reid over the years, the goal is to get to their level if not better. The star pitcher already has one goal in his sights regarding that for his senior season at Chatham Glenwood.
“I’m going to go chase after that and see if I can break that,” Parker said about bettering Reid’s 153-strikeout senior season. “But next year, I just want to go out there and dominate everyone, see how many innings and strikeouts I can get.”
While there is a possibility that Parker also becomes an MLB Draft pick right out of high school, he may very well take the path his older brother did by playing college baseball for at least a few years.
Anytime a sibling is a pro athlete, there are going to be comparisons and expectations placed on other family members. However, instead of feeling any pressure, Parker is simply motivated thanks to his competitiveness, and hopes to best Reid if and when he gets to Louisville.
Big congrats to my little brother Parker for committing to @LouisvilleBSB. Keep workin buddy. #L1C4 pic.twitter.com/jStE6BBqfb
— Reid Detmers (@RDetmers) January 1, 2020
“I’m really excited to go there,” Parker said. “They’re always really good. It just pushes me to get better and leave my own legacy there and to not be known only as Reid Detmers’ brother. It really pushes me to be even better than him at Louisville.”
Reid has given Parker a blueprint for success, and now he is ready to follow the same path. A strong finish at Chatham Glenwood, a brilliant career at Louisville and becoming an MLB Draft pick are all in the cards for Parker, and with the prior success of his family, it would not be surprising for another member of the Detmers family to become a household name sooner than later.
