Prior Progresses
The Cubs are not sure if Mark Prior will be ready for opening day, but what they are sure of is that he is making progress. Today, Prior was pitching a minor league team, so that he could worry about location and to boost his confidence level up. Prior gave up one hit, two walks, a hit by pitch and struck out four while giving up zero during Friday’s game.
Prior commented, “I threw a lot of breaking pitches for strikes. That was the goal, to locate it a little better.” It is good to see Prior being optimisitic about the situation and that he still has confidence with himself. He was throwing in the range of 85-90 MPH, according to Larry Rothschild, so it looks like his velocity has not increased too much since the last time he has pitched, but if he gets his command in full gear things he should be good to go.
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Personally, I think that Prior should start the year in AAA Iowa. He’s going to need the starts to help regain his command again. From there we can only hope that his velocity comes back. I’m sure somebody will be hurt that he can squeak back in the rotation when somebody gets hurt, or if Miller’s performance falls off. I haven’t quite given up on Prior yet, but I’m getting close.