Mark Prior Compares Dodgers' Tyler Glasnow to Chicago Cubs Legend

J.P. Hoornstra | May 23, 2024

Apr 27, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It's not often the Dodgers can claim a pitcher like Tyler Glasnow: a power right-hander who pitches deep into games, strikes out batters with 96-mph fastballs and darting breaking balls, and generally ranks among the most difficult starters in the game a batter can face.

Walker Buehler comes to mind, though he is just now working back from a two-year hiatus due to elbow surgery. Dustin May has shown flashes of this degree of dominance over parts of five seasons, but health has been even more of an issue for him than for Buehler. In the cases of Trevor Bauer, Yu Darvish, and even Josh Beckett, their times in the organization were simply too brief — for a variety of reasons — to win over the hearts and imaginations of Dodger fans.

Glasnow agreed to a four-year contract extension with an option for a fifth year when he was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Dodgers last December. Since then, he's had 11 starts and 67 innings in the regular season to invite comparisons to Dodgers past.

Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior reached back into Chicago Cubs history to find the comparison that Glasnow evoked most in his mind: Kerry Wood.

“It reminds me a little bit of life in the zone like Kerry Wood," Prior told Dodger Insider. "He had that raw explosiveness coming out of his arm. And it’s a little bit of a similar look for me. Glass is obviously a little bit taller and a little bit more over the top. But it’s pretty impressive to see how he moves.”

Wood pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland, and New York Yankees from 1998-2012. He was the 1998 National League Rookie of the Year and an All-Star in 2003, when he led MLB with 266 strikeouts. Prior and Wood were teammates in the Cubs' rotation from 2002-06, helping the Cubs reach the National League Championship series in 2003.

Although his later seasons were frequently cut short by injuries, Wood's prime years are still well-remembered among Cubs fans. He etched his name in baseball history when he struck out a record 20 Houston Astros hitters in his fourth career start.

If the Dodgers can coax from Glasnow what the Cubs got from Wood during his brief but mighty peak, the next five years invites the potential for a memorable pitching performance at least every fifth day.

Glasnow, 30, is 6-3 with a 3.09 ERA. He leads all major league pitchers with 11 starts, 67 innings pitched, and 87 strikeouts.