He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals.

He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix Buffaloes and in the KBO League for the Lotte Giants.

[3] He was assigned to the Rookie Idaho Falls Chukars for the 2013 season and made 20 relief appearances, posting a 1–0 win–loss record, 1.72 earned run average (ERA), and 47 strikeouts in 362⁄3 innings pitched.

[1][4] Sparkman began the 2015 season with the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals, making four starts and going 2–2 with a 3.60 ERA before going on the disabled list with an arm injury.

[5] Sparkman rehabbed with the Arizona League Royals, and also made starts for the Class-A Lexington Legends, Advanced-A Wilmington, and Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2016.

He was assigned to Northwest Arkansas to begin the 2018 season, later receiving a promotion to the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers.

With the 2020 Kansas City Royals, Sparkman appeared in 4 games, compiling a 0-0 record with 5.40 ERA and 2 strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched.