To the New York Yankees, minor league third baseman Parks Harber wasn’t much more than an added piece in what many around baseball felt was an “underwhelming” haul for an All-Star closer. But to the San Francisco Giants, Harber was a sneaky pickup with underlying potential.
And in the Arizona Fall League, Harber is showing everybody that perhaps the Giants were right.
In 68 plate appearances over 15 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions, Harber posted a slash line of .407/.529/.741 with a 1.270 OPS. He finished with nine doubles, three home runs and 15 RBIs, earning a spot in the AFL Fall Stars Game this weekend, and Harber will also compete in the league’s Home Run Derby.
Not bad for a guy who went undrafted after his collegiate career. Although after hitting 54 home runs with 190 RBIs during those four years – the first three at the University of Georgia, before transferring to the University of North Carolina – it’s a little hard to understand how Harber’s name was never called during the 2024 MLB Draft.
But that became somewhat of a theme for Harber, not to mention a source of motivation.
“People didn’t see me as good enough to get drafted,” Harber explained to Baseball America. “It was up to me to put in the work to get myself to a place where I could be considered good enough.”
Yankees Traded Parks Harber Despite Solid Numbers as a Pro
The Yankees signed Harber as an undrafted free agent shortly after last year’s draft, and he showed pretty well in a brief stint with the Single-A Tampa Tarpons. Harber opened up the 2025 season back in Tampa, batting .304 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in the first month to earn a callup to High-A Hudson Valley, where he slashed .326/.395/.489 in 34 games.
But when the Yankees connected with San Francisco to make a trade for Camilo Doval, an All-Star in 2024 when he led the National League in saves, they didn’t balk at including Harber in a four-player package that included a pair of their top-30 prospects in Trystan Vrieling (No. 19) and Jesus Rodriguez (No. 25), as well as left-handed pitcher Carlos De La Rosa. And the Giants were only too happy to get Harber.
“His name just stayed with us the whole time,” said Giants farm director Kyle Haines. “The more we learned about him, the more we really liked him.”
Parks Harber Closed 2025 Season Strong, Kept Producing in AFL
Harber exploded over the final month-plus of the season with High-A Eugene. He slashed .333/.454/.644 with a 1.098 OPS, blasting seven home runs with 24 RBIs in 25 games.
“Since we acquired him, he’s been quite the story,” Haines said. “It’s just tough to find the guy who blends plate discipline with just very strong power output numbers.”
That output continued in Arizona for Harber, who turned 24 on Sept. 25, and he’s determined to keep it going.
“My approach to baseball is to outwork everyone else,” Harber said. “I’m always trying to plan ahead and think about adjustments I can make now that are going to benefit not just next year, but hopefully in the big leagues one day.”
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