Photography by Steve Buchanan
Archbishop Spalding baseball coach Joe Palumbo only needed to see one inning of pitching from then-freshman Parker Thomas against DeMatha Catholic in March of 2020. That’s all it took for Palumbo to realize Thomas had unbelievable potential. The righthander had such outstanding control for a young pitcher as well as an effective three-pitch mix.
“I thought we had a pretty special pitcher,” Palumbo recalls. “Here, he was pitching as a 14-year-old against 17- and 18-year-olds. I know he had a real good shot to play high-level college baseball.”
Indeed. Thomas, now a senior, became a coveted prospect through Palumbo reaching out to coaches and him getting noticed by competing for the mid-Atlantic Red Sox, a showcase team that plays in tournaments up and down the East Coast.
North Carolina, Maryland, Clemson, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Virginia, West Virginia, and Duke aggressively recruited him.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Thomas ended up verbally committing to East Carolina, which was ranked No. 12 in the country coming into this season. He felt East Carolina could get the most out of his ability and give him a legitimate shot at professional baseball. He signed a National Letter of Intent in November of 2022.
“I talked to a lot of schools, but the East Carolina coaching staff sold me on their development process,” Thomas says. “They have a national-level program, and they really know how to develop guys. It’s incredible.”
East Carolina Associate Baseball Coach Jeffrey Palumbo, Joe’s brother, loves Thomas’ potential as a pitcher, but Parker will also have the chance to see time in the infield. Thomas has played all the infield positions at Spalding except catcher.
“That is super rare,” Jeffrey says of someone being a utility player and pitcher at the college level. “If you look around the country, that is unique, especially at the highest levels, and Parker can do it at our program.”
Thomas has everything the East Carolina coaching staff is looking for in a pitcher.
“Everybody wants the pitcher who has three great pitches like Parker, who has a fastball, change-up, and breaking ball and also the velocity,” Jeffrey says. “And Parker has the command. When I watched him pitch, what I loved is his bulldog mentality on the mound. He is the complete package. We are super excited about him.”
One of the most impressive things about the 17-year-old Thomas is the velocity of his fastball. He reached 92 miles per hour twice last year on a radar gun. “I expect to climb a little higher this season,” Thomas explains. “By throwing harder it makes you more dominate.”
Expectations are, naturally, higher than ever for Thomas’ senior season this spring.
The Player Baseball Report ranked him as the No. 3 prospect in the state for the class of 2023. Thomas would probably be happy to duplicate his success this season of 2022. He went a perfect 8-0, striking out 60 batters in 38 innings and posting a 0.36 ERA while yielding only 22 hits. Those great numbers earned him Baltimore Sun First-Team All-Metro honors.
Thomas also hit .362 with two home runs, 15 RBIs, 18 runs scored, walks, and a .548 on-base percentage.
Those statistics come after a 2021 season in which he posted a 5-1 record with 58 strikeouts in 43 innings and a 0.96 ERA.
“He has really good command of three pitches, and what separates him from other high school pitchers is that all three are at a high level,” Joe Palumbo says. “You really don’t find all of that at the high school level too often.”
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