When the Chicago Cubs drafted Mark Prior second overall in 2001 out of USC, they expected big things. Soon after, he delivered and quickly evolved into one of the game’s elite pitchers.
But the phenom’s reign at the top didn’t last long, as he soon faded into obscurity amid an onslaught of injuries.
It will be four years Tuesday since Prior last pitched in the big leagues, but the once highly touted prospect is reportedly hanging onto hope that he will someday return to the big stage.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the now 29-year-old Prior has begun pitching for the Orange County Flyers of the independent Golden Baseball League in the hopes of showing that he can still be an effective pitcher.
"My guess is that he’ll get to the big leagues real quick," said USC pitching coach Tom House, whom Prior trained with for ninth months this past year.
After some flaws in Prior’s mechanics derailed what looked to be a promising career for the pitcher, limiting him to 57 starts from 2004-2006, he has since attempted to return to the majors on multiple occasions. In 2009, he signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres, but he was eventually let go before ever making it up to the big club.
Aug. 10, 2006 remains the last time Prior appeared in a major league game. He lasted only three innings in a losing effort that night. He surrendered five earned runs on the way to dropping his season record to 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA. Four days later, Prior was diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis, which essentially ended his career.
Prior is continuing to work hard, though, refusing go away quietly. And why not?
After all, it seems like just yesterday that he burst onto the scene in 2002 with a 6-6 record, a 3.32 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 116 2/3 innings. From the start, it was easy to see why many labeled Prior a can’t miss prospect.
In 2003, Prior posted an 18-6 record with a 2.43 ERA and struck out 245 batters in 211 1/3 innings. He was an All-Star, ranked third in NL Cy Young voting, ninth in NL MVP voting and was regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Of course, the odds aren’t working in Prior’s favor and he almost certainly will never return to his former near-Cy Young form — if he can even make it back to the big leagues — but at only 29 years old, there’s no reason why he should just roll over and die.
Prior reportedly wants to return to the majors as a middle reliever, and with such a shortage of effective ones in the game today, it is probably the easiest road.
Will Prior’s independent league performance be enough to catch the attention of a few major league teams and earn him one last shot at major league stardom? At this point it seems unlikely, but then again, crazier things have happened.
