WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Pitching to a rate of 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings is a solid foundation for a first year of pro ball. Still, left-hander Mitchell Parker sees room for improvement as he prepares for the 2022 season at Nationals Minor League camp at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

“I never really had all four pitches working all on one day,” Parker, ranked as the Nats’ No. 15 prospect by MLB Pipeline, said. “It was either I had a fastball-curveball that day, or I had the curveball-splitter. I never had everything, so we’re just trying to lessen the days of not having everything and just see if we can get them all to line up on the same day.”

A year after being selected by Washington out of San Jacinto College in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft, Parker appeared in 23 games (21 starts) across two Minor League levels last season, promoted from Low-A Fredericksburg to High-A Wilmington in July.

In total, the 22-year-old went 4-12 with a 4.87 ERA, 144 strikeouts and 3.4 walks per nine innings in 101 2/3 frames. He trailed only right-hander Cade Cavalli, the Nationals’ No. 1 prospect, in strikeouts among the organization’s Minor League pitchers. Parker held opponents to a .255 batting average, including .198 in lefty-lefty matchups.

“The difference between college and here is the hitters didn’t really chase the pitches that I really wanted them to,” Parker said. “I had to move more in the zone with it all and be more competitive, and not just luck out and get a hitter to swing at anything.”

For Parker, who was a 28th-round pick by the Cubs in 2018 and a 27th-round selection by the Rays in 2019, it took some time to get acclimated to the new level of competition. He attributes his strikeout rate efficiency to attacking the zone and simplifying his approach.

“It definitely just came down to the second half of the year, [I] kind of zeroed in on the strike zone a little more, kind of got over some of the fear of facing a pro guy,” Parker said. “[At the] end of the day, it was just another hitter. I thought back to college, just attack the guys, quit trying to be too fancy with everything, just do what I do best and stay in the zone with it.”

MLB Pipeline assessed the following scouting grades to Parker’s pitch mix on a 20-80 scale: fastball 55, curveball 55, changeup 45, splitter 45, control 50, overall 40. In addition to sequencing, Parker worked this winter on curveball location and continuing to build momentum with his splitter. He also went back to his changeup, which he had stopped focusing on as much during last season, for a fourth pitch.

“We knew we're going to have to come revisit it,” Parker said of the changeup. “We just wanted to have an offseason to really grind on it, kind of figure it out, see what works best with it and really just get control of it, get the confidence up with it.”

Parker has a clear idea of what he aims to accomplish on the mound this season. For all the intricacies that go into enhancing his pitching repertoire, Parker sums up his key to success succinctly.

“Miss less,” Parker said. “Don’t hang a curveball and don’t miss in the strike zone with the fastball.”