Dodgers Interview: Mark Prior Talks Managing his Billion-Dollar Staff
LOS ANGELES — When the Dodgers resumed media day Thursday in L.A., pitching coach Mark Prior didn’t shy away from praise for his arms. He spoke to Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s recent starts, walked through the juggling of rotations and relievers, and laid out what he sees as the building blocks of this staff’s postseason identity.
“I probably would echo what most people said. Those both outings were … for me personally one of the top two that I’ve seen live,” Prior said of Snell and Yoshi. He noted both had control from the get-go. “Snell from the first pitch, I thought he did a really good job of establishing what he wanted to do … and he carried that through eight innings.” As for Yamamoto, he’s quick to highlight the adversity. “Yoshi gets punched in the face right on the first pitch … He settled down … got through that first inning … then from then on it was just about understanding what was working for him, getting ahead, maybe just getting on the edges a little bit.”
When asked about managing this year’s pitching staff versus past seasons, Prior kept it grounded. “Every year is different … there’s no one way to win ball games … there’s a lot of people who participate in winning ball games,” he said. He stressed that depth is essential. “Our starters … we didn’t really have a full rotation for a while … last year we didn’t have a rotation either.” But, he added: “We adjust … you try to take it day by day and you try to win the ball games.”
On Roki Sasaki’s recent drop in velocity, Prior called it a mix of factors. “I’m sure it’s a combination of both. There’s a lot asked right now of all our relievers, specifically him,” he said. He noted that the opponent matters. “He wasn’t completely spraying some of the balls,” Prior observed, crediting the other team for working him hard. Still, he said the staff is “definitely monitoring” his performance.
Addressing Tyler Glasnow, Prior talked mechanics and trust. “He definitely wants to feel in a good spot with his delivery … sometimes lining those pieces up takes some time … his growth has been understanding what the common objective is … even when he doesn’t feel 100 percent perfect … he can get one curveball in there or one fastball and he’ll lock in.” Prior didn’t shy from calling his stuff elite. “His raw stuff … he’s top five in baseball. When it’s lined up, it’s fun to watch.”
Later, he tackled the big question: how to push starters into deeper outings without overtaxing them. His answer boiled down to execution, not pitch counts. “What’s more unique is to not see them stressed pretty much for those nine innings,” he said. “That third stress point is really where you don’t want a guy to break.” The key, in his view, lies in having multiple pitches and keeping hitters off balance. “You probably need guys with three to four pitches … be able to give hitters multiple looks … set guys up differently … that’s how you get deeper into ball games.”
Finally, Prior touched on the culture. He sees a quiet internal standard among his starters. “I think ultimately they want to perform for the collective group … there’s a standard that’s been here for decades.” He noted that guys are not chasing, but holding the bar for one another. “We’re on a good little run … our goal right now is just go out and play a solid nine innings … get a quality start out of Glass.”
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