Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

The Chicago Cubs are calling up former Fayetteville and Arkansas position player Blake Parker, now a relief pitcher, from Class AAA Iowa.

It was not clear Wednesday who the Cubs would reassign to make room for Parker, a right-hander, on their major league roster. The news, first announced on ESPNChicago.com, comes a day after Philadelphia jumped on the Cubs bullpen in a 9-2 victory.

The Cubs took Parker out of Arkansas in the 16^th round of the 2006 draft. He converted to pitcher in 2007 after playing one professional season with the Cubs organization, making it to Class A Peoria, of the Midwest League, and earning Arizona League all-star honors that fall while hitting .224 for the season.

Parker is 1-0 with five saves in 13 games at Iowa, where he spent part of last year. In his six professional seasons he is 14-15 with a 2.96 ERA and 58 saves.

An infielder/outfielder at Arkansas, Parker hit .266 in college with a 14-game hitting streak in 2006.