Dodgers: Mark Prior Lays Out the Expectations for Tony Gonsolin This Upcoming Season
Mark Prior has been with the Dodgers since 2018 and took over as pitching coach in 2020. He's seen lots of players blossom in Los Angeles and one of those players is Tony Gonsolin.
Gonsolin was drafted by the Dodgers in the 2016 Draft and in 2019, he got his first major league start at 25 years old where he posted a 2.93 ERA across 11 games including 37 strikeouts.
He was destined to be a star and that's exactly what he proved during his 2022 campaign. Goose made himself an absolute weapon for the Dodgers posting a 16-1 record with a 2.14 ERA and 119 strikeouts.
The right-hander made his first All-Star team and posted an outstanding 0.875 WHIP. He even looked to be an early Cy Young candidate by the end of summer.
Unfortunately, his career-best season came to end in August due to a right forearm strain. But since then, he's had his mind and heart set on the 2023 season.
This week, Prior was featured on MLB Network Radio and talked about the next step for Gonsolin in great detail:
"I thought he had an unbelievable year last year, but he ran into a little bit of trouble there at the end of the year with a little bit of a forearm issue but came back for the playoffs. And you know, the thing is, I think we talked about him and we’ve had this conversation in years past with Walker [Buehler] and Julio [Urias], it’s how do we go from 134 innings and kind of a fragmented season to, how do you go wire to wire? And I think that’s where you, as a starting pitcher, you take that next step."
“It’s great to have flashes and runs of success or performance, but what truly makes the great great, you know, the Verlanders and Scherzers and Kershaws and these guys, is the ability to go almost wire to wire, you know, Opening Day to the end of the season. And it’s, can you get those 27, 28, 29 starts and those 160-180 innings or 190 innings, whatever it is."
"And those are the conversations we’ve had since last year, a lot of that starts with his preparation in the offseason, you know, and he’s killed it from an offseason programming. I think he understands what it’s gonna take for him to be able to do that, understanding the work that you have to do to lay the foundation in the winter months, as well as things that we’ve talked about. Like, what does that mean between start 11 and 12, and my arm’s feeling this way, and how do I manage my workload in between starts? All those little things that allow the best to go out and pitch every fifth or sixth day, those are things that now he has a better understanding because he’s experienced it.
“It’s conversations you have with these guys, even in the minor leagues, about what it’s like, but talk is cheap in some respects from a coach, and until these guys physically feel it, live it, and understand the demands of what that does to your body, then they can go out and have a better idea of how to prepare for it, and then adjust and be able to adapt within the season to make sure they’re putting themselves in the best position to be successful.
“I think as far as what Tony does, I think it’s the same playbook as he did last year, from the standpoint of he dominated the strikezone, he got into counts, he filled up the strikezone, and then he was able to, when he got the opportunity, if it got to two strikes, he was able to convert.”
So there you have it. Mark Prior's playbook for Tony Gonsolin for the upcoming 2023 season.
Gonsolin will most likely join Kershaw, May, Syndergaard, and Urias in the starting rotation. I don't know about you, but I just can't wait to see the Catman take the mound again after a long six months post-injury.
