20-year old righty starting pitcher Jarrod Parker was the D-Backs #1 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He started 20 games in A+AA ball this season and he was 5-6 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. To move up though Parker will need to tighten up his control as he walked 38 batters in only 97 1/3 innings in the minors. Parker did strike out 95 batters though showing how good his stuff is. If Parker pitches well in the minors next season he could make his way to the majors based on the problems the D-Backs might have next season in the starting rotation.

UPDATE: Jarrod Parker will have Tommy John Surgery which will cause him to miss the entire 2010 baseball season. This is a huge blow to the D-Backs as Parker was likely going to pitch for them at some point next season.

The D-Backs have lost closer Chad Qualls for the rest of the season due to a dislocated knee cap. Qualls pitched in 51 games (0 starts) this season for the D-Backs and he was 2-2 with 24 saves, a 3.63 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He whiffed 45 hitters while only walking 7 batters in 52 innings which showed he had solid stuff. Juan Gutierrez will likely replace Qualls as the closer. He has pitched in 54 games (0 starts) this season and he is 3-3 with 2 saves, a 4.17 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Gutierrez has walked 27 batters in 58 1/3 innings this season so his control could be a issue. But he has whiffed 55 batters this season so he has the potential to do a good job. Losing Qualls will likely hurt the D-Backs the last month of the season as he’s a much better pitcher than Gutierrez is.

The D-Backs have placed 21-year old righty swinging outfielder Justin Upton on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain. Upton is having a breakout season so the Diamondbacks will miss him. He has played in 103 games this season for the D-Backs and he is 118 for 392 (.301 avg, .915 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 20 homers, 66 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. The Diamondbacks have recalled 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Trent Oeltjen to take over Upton’s spot on the roster. He made a great major league debut last night going 2 for 6 with a solo homer and 2 stolen bases. Oeltjen played in 106 games in AAA-ball before his recall and he was 124 for 414 (.300 avg, .863 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 10 homers, 61 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.

The D-Backs have lost outfielder Eric Byrnes for the next two months due to a fractured left hand. Byrnes has played in 62 games this season for the D-Backs and he is 42 for 194 (.216 avg, .621 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 5 homers, 24 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Diamondbacks will miss Byrnes effort while he is out.

The D-Backs have placed veteran 1B Tony Clark on the 15-day disabled list with a strained ligament in his right hand. He has played in 17 games for the D-Backs this season and he is 5 for 28 (.179 avg, .687 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. The D-Backs will miss Clark’s power off the bench despite him whiffing an amazing 15 times this season already. The D-Backs have recalled 26-year old lefty swinging 1B Josh Whitesell from the minors to replace Clark on the roster. They should give their #19 prospect (according to Baseball America) a shot at some real playing time because the D-Backs are having problems hitting the ball. Whitesell has played in 25 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 31 for 87 (.356 avg, 1.029 OPS) there with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 20 RBIs. He had a cup of coffee last September with the D-Backs playing in 7 games in which he was 2 for 7 (.286 avg, 1.158 OPS) with a solo homer.